On Thursday evening, a judge in the southern town of Ziguinchor reversed the exclusion of imprisoned opposition politician Ousmane Sonko from Senegal's electoral rolls, thus allowing him to run as a presidential candidate.

This decision was confirmed by Mr. Sonko's legal team and his dissolved political party.

Mr. Sonko's lawyers, who successfully challenged his disqualification, asserted that their client was now eligible to participate in the February 2024 elections.

However, in a statement released by the State's legal representative, it was indicated that the State would appeal the judge's ruling and that Mr. Sonko's candidacy was still in question.

The legal proceedings took place in Ziguinchor, where Mr. Sonko serves as mayor and is registered, and were seen by some as the opposition's final opportunity for him to stand as a candidate.

The court "declared Mr. Ousmane Sonko's removal from the electoral rolls null and void and ordered his reinstatement, which should take immediate effect", one of his defenders, Me Ciré Clédor Ly, said in a message on Friday.

"The Ziguinchor district court ruled on the law and only on the law (...) There was no justification for removing President Ousmane Sonko from the electoral rolls," said El Malick Ndiaye, a leading figure in Mr. Sonko's dissolved party.

On June 1, Mr. Sonko was convicted guilty of defiling a minor and given a two-year prison term. He declined to show up for the trial, which he claimed was an attempt to prevent him from running for office. As a result, he was found guilty in absentia.

At the end of July, Mr. Sonko was detained on additional allegations, including inciting rebellion, criminal involvement with a terrorist organization, and damaging national security.

The authorities are examining his involvement in a string of violent protest outbursts since 2021, the most significant of which occurred in June and left many people dead.