Ousmane Sonko

Bassirou Diomaye Faye is sworn in as Senegal's president in Dakar, Senegal, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Senegal has sworn in Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its new president, completing the previously little-known opposition figure’s dramatic ascent from prison to the palace in recent weeks. Faye was released from prison less than two weeks before the March election following a political amnesty announced by the outgoing president. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal swears in Africa’s youngest elected leader as president in a dramatic prison-to-palace rise

Senegal has inaugurated Africa’s youngest elected leader as president, as the 44-year-old and previously little-known Bassirou Diomaye Faye completed a dramatic ascent from prison to palace within weeks.
 
Bassirou Diomaye Faye holds a press conference after winning the presidential elections in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Senegal’s president-elect pledges to fight corruption after a stunning victory for the 44-year-old

 
Bassirou Diomaye Faye holds a press conference after winning the presidential elections in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Senegal’s little-known opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye is named the next president

 
Presidential candidate Amadou Ba and his wife leave a polling station after casting their votes during the presidential elections, in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Senegal voted in a tightly contested presidential race after months of unrest

 
Presidential candidate Anta Babacar Ngom greets supporters during her electoral campaign caravan in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 11, 2024. Senegal’s only female presidential candidate may stand no chance of winning but activists say her presence alone is helping to advance a decades long campaign to achieve equality in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal votes in a presidential election that has fired up political tensions

 

Senegal votes in tight presidential race after months of unrest

Senegalese anxiously awaited the results of the presidential election Monday, following months of uncertainty and unrest that tested its reputation as a stable democracy in a region rife with coups. More than 7 million people were registered to vote, in a country of roughly 17 million. To win in the first round, candidates must gain more than 50% or it goes to a runoff.
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Senegal to head to polls Sunday in tight presidential election, AP explains

Outside the UN, the passionate try to be heard

Senegal protesters, police clash after Sonko verdict

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Senegal's opposition leader Ousmane Sonko adresses supporters in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Sonko was released from prison earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Top Senegal opposition leader vows to help win March 24 election, speaking out after prison release

Senegal’s top opposition leader is vowing to help his team win thes March 24 presidential election even though he is barred from the ballot.
 
Supporters celebrate the release of Senegal's top opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and his key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye outside Sonko's home in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Sonko had been in prison since July 2023 and has fought a prolonged legal battle to run for president in the March 24 election.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal’s top opposition leader freed from prison ahead of presidential election this month

Senegal’s top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has been released from prison ahead of the country’s presidential election later this month.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Sonko suffered a major setback in his quest to contest the presidency on Friday Jan. 5, 2024 when a top court upheld the defamation conviction in a case brought against him by a government minister. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal’s opposition leader faces another setback in presidential race after application is rejected

Senegal’s top opposition leader has suffered major setbacks in his quest to contest the presidency when a top court upheld the defamation conviction against him and the Constitutional Council rejected his application to be a presidential candidate on the basis that it was incomplete.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. A court ordered Thursday Dec. 14 2023 Sonko to be reinstated on the electoral list, which could allow him to run for president in February's 2024 election. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal’s opposition leader could run for president after a court overturns a ruling barring his bid

On Thursday, a court ordered Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to be reinstated on the electoral list, which could allow him to run for president in February’s election.
 
Senegal police stands in front of the Supreme Court in Dakar, Senegal, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, as the court is due to rule on whether opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ousmane Sonko can take part in the upcoming February election despite being struck from the country's voter rolls after his conviction on charges of corrupting youth earlier this year. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Senegal opposition party sponsoring new candidate Faye after court blocks jailed leader Sonko’s bid

The party of jailed Senegalese leader Ousmane Sonko says it’s now backing another candidate for the February presidential election.
 
Senegal police stands in front of the Supreme Court in Dakar, Senegal, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, as the court is due to rule on whether opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ousmane Sonko can take part in the upcoming February election despite being struck from the country's voter rolls after his conviction on charges of corrupting youth earlier this year. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)

Ruling by Senegal’s highest court blocks jailed opposition leader Sonko from running for president

Senegal’s highest court has effectively barred detained opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from running for president early next year.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Senegalese authorities say that opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ousmane Sonko is back in jail after being hospitalized for weeks during a hunger strike. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegalese opposition leader Sonko sent back to prison after weeks in hospital during hunger strike

Senegalese authorities say that opposition leader and presidential hopeful Ousmane Sonko is back in jail after being hospitalized for weeks during a hunger strike.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Senegal's electoral commission on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 asked that sponsorship forms be given to main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, whose candidacy for the upcoming presidential election has been called into question over the past year amid a series of criminal charges. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal electoral commission says main opposition leader Sonko should be given sponsorship forms

Senegal’s electoral commission says that main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko should be given sponsorship forms for the upcoming presidential election in February.
 

Senegalese opposition leader Sonko regains consciousness but remains on hunger strike, lawyer says

A lawyer for Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko says he’s regained consciousness after reports earlier this week he had fallen into a coma while on hunger strike.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Sonko has been charged with conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrections among other offenses, said the public prosecutor on Saturday, July 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegalese opposition leader in intensive care nearly three weeks into hunger strike

Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko is in intensive care 19 days into a political hunger strike.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Sonko has been charged with conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrections among other offenses, said the public prosecutor on Saturday, July 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko hospitalized a week into prison hunger strike

Senegal’s jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on a hunger strike in prison to protest criminal charges against him, has been hospitalized.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, on March 8, 2021. Sonko has been charged with conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrections among other offenses, said the public prosecutor on Saturday, July 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Senegal dissolves opposition party, restricts internet ahead of next year’s presidential election

Senegal’s government has dissolved a major opposition party and restricted internet service hours after the party’s popular president and opposition leader said a judge ordered his arrest.
 
A riot police officer shots tear gas at demonstrators during a protest at the Cheikh Anta Diop University campus in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted Thursday of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal opposition leader Sonko’s lawyer files a lawsuit in France and calls for an ICC inquiry

A lawyer for Senegal’s embattled opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has filed a lawsuit in a French court.
 
Seynabou Diop looks on as she holds her prayer beads after talking about her son, Khadim Ba, 21, who died during the protests earlier this month in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 15, 2023. "If I had known (he was going to protest), Khadim would never have taken part," said Diop. "I want (the government) to meet the expectations of young people, the government has an obligation to help (them)," she said. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Protesters in Senegal accuse police of using armed civilians to quell unrest

Demonstrators and civil rights groups in Senegal are accusing the country’s security forces of working with armed civilians who shot and killed several people who participated in recent anti-government protests.
 
A demonstrator throws a rock at police during a protest at a neighborhood in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, June 3, 2023. The clashes first broke out later this week after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal violence threatens country’s stability as experts call on government to instill calm

Senegal experts have called on the government to instill calm after days of the country’s deadliest violence in years and concerns it could have lasting consequences.
 
Police in riot gear stand guard during clashes with demonstrators in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, June 3, 2023. The clashes first broke out, later this week, after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal’s government suspends mobile internet access amid days of deadly clashes

Senegal’s government has temporarily suspended mobile phone data as the country reels from days of deadly clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
 
A demonstrator throws a rock at police during a protest at a neighborhood in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, June 3, 2023. The clashes first broke out later this week after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Death toll from Senegal protests rises to 15 as opposition supporters clash with police

Senegal’s government says the number of people killed in clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has now risen to 15, including two security officers.
 
Burned cars are seen at the entrance of the Cheikh Anta Diop University after authorities ordered the institution to be closed until further notice in Dakar, Senegal, Friday, June 2, 2023. Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Clashes in Senegal kill at least 9; government bans social media platforms and closes university

Senegal’s government says at least nine people have been killed in violent clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
 
A riot police officer shots tear gas at demonstrators during a protest at the Cheikh Anta Diop University campus in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was convicted Thursday of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal opposition leader Sonko convicted of corrupting youth, acquitted of rape

A court in Senegal’s capital says opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor.
 
A demonstrator walks past a barricade set on fire during a protest in support of main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, May 29, 2023. The clashes came a day after police stopped Sonko's "freedom caravan," traveling from his hometown of Ziguinchor, in the south and where he is the mayor, to the capital, Dakar, where he was forced into a home he has in the city. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Police fire tear gas and protesters burn vehicles near home of Senegal’s main opposition leader

Police fired tear gas and demonstrators burned cars Monday near the home of Senegal’s main opposition leader, as tensions rise in the capital days before a court verdict is expected.
 

Trial for Senegal’s main opposition leader ends, verdict expected next week

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A highly-anticipated trial of Senegal’s main opposition leader ended Tuesday evening with a verdict expected next week, a court said Wednesday.
 
A man drives his horse-drawn cart past burned buses, parked in a lot for out of service vehicles, that were set on fire during protests last night in Keur Massar, Dakar region, Senegal, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. According to the authorities at least three people died, including a police officer who was hit by a police vehicle, in Dakar and Ziguinchor during clashes between security forces and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal opposition leader’s trial postponed after day of violence

The rape trial of Senegal’s main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been postponed to May 23. The trial was due to begin on Tuesday.
 

Senegal sees unrest ahead of opposition leader’s rape trial; officer hit by police vehicle killed

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A police officer died and several demonstrators were injured Monday during clashes between security forces and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko in his hometown, according to an interior ministry statement and media reports.
 

Senegal’s opposition leader gets suspended jail sentence

Senegal’s main opposition leader has been given a six-month suspended prison sentence by an appeals court in the West African nation over a defamation case brought against him by a government minister.
 
FILE - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal, Monday, March 8, 2021. Prosecutors in Senegal who had sought two years in prison for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have filed an appeal after he was given a two-month suspended sentence for his conviction on libel charges in a case his supporters say was politically motivated. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

Prosecutors in Senegal appeal opposition leader’s sentence

Prosecutors in Senegal are appealing the two-month suspended sentence handed down to the West African country’s top opposition leader.
 

Senegal’s top opposition leader found guilty of libel

A court in Senegal’s capital, sentenced the country’s top opposition leader to a two-month suspended sentence after he was convicted of libel.
 
The opposition leader Ousmane Sonko greets his supporters after leaving the tribunal, in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Police in Senegal smashed out the windows of Sonko's car and forced him from the vehicle after he appeared in court. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Senegal police smash car, forcibly remove opposition leader

Police in Senegal have smashed the windows of a top opposition leader’s car and forced him from the vehicle after he appeared in court.