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

By BABACAR DIONE
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s electoral commission says that main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko should be given sponsorship forms for the upcoming presidential election in February. The move comes after the interior ministry struck him from the country’s voter rolls earlier this year after he was convicted on charges of corrupting youth. The decision was later overturned by a court judge in the southern city of Ziguinchor. Sonko’s candidacy also has been up in the air because he still faces other criminal charges that his supporters say are politically motivated. Sonko is currently hospitalized in Dakar after falling ill amid a hunger strike — the second he’s launched since his detention in late July.