The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. December 15, 2023 Senegal Court Clears Path for Jailed Opposition Leader Ousmane Sonko to Challenge President Sall ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A court in Senegal has ordered jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to be reinstated on the electoral roll, paving the way for him to stand in next year's presidential election. Sonko, who is expected to be a key challenger of President Macky Sall, was sentenced in June to a two-year prison term over an alleged sexual assault - charges he has accused the government of manufacturing to derail his candidacy. In late July, Senegalese officials dissolved Sonko's Patriots of Senegal party - the first time a political party has been banned in the West African nation since its independence from France in 1960. .