Senegal's parliament has passed a proposal that effectively restored the right of two key opposition deputies to run in the country's presidential election next year.
Passed on Saturday evening by 124 votes to one, the vote cleared any person convicted but then either pardoned or amnestied to run for office.
That cleared the way for Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, who would otherwise have been ineligible for Senegal's presidential election in February 2024.
Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, and Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, are both considered leading contenders.
They were prevented from running in the last presidential election in 2019 because of separate convictions for financial crimes.
The man who won that vote, Macky Sall, is now coming to the end of his second term in office. Last month he finally ended months of speculation by announcing that he would not seek a third term, which legal experts said would be unconstitutional.
Some observers are hopeful that parliament's decision will help ease the tension that has gripped Senegal in recent months.
Sonko still out
Since 2021 Senegal has been shaken by sometimes deadly political violence linked to the judicial woes of opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, widely considered another leading contender for next year's presidential poll.
The way leading opposition figures such as Wade and Sall had been ruled out of the electoral race because of their convictions also fuelled tension.
Earlier this week, Sonko was indicted and detained and his party dissolved.
A government spokesman accused him and his followers of having fomented insurrection and promoted violence.
It now seems more likely than ever that Sonko, who has already been convicted in two other cases, will be unable to contest the election.
Contenders
In this context, the presidential race seems more than usually open.
Karim Wade was a minister during his father's presidency between 2000 and 2012. His six-year prison conviction in 2015 was for illegal enrichment.
He served three years before being pardoned by President Sall in 2016, after which he went into exile.
Khalifa Sall served as mayor of Dakar from 2009, but he was detained in 2017, accused of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in jail the following year.
He was released in 2017, also having received a presidential pardon.
All three opposition figures have denounced the judicial proceedings against them as politically motivated.
Sall is also expected to nominate a candidate for his own succession. He is due to meet with several hopefuls next week.
(with AFP)
