International News

DAKAR, July 21 (APP/AFP) – Senegal’s Supreme Court
rejected bail for Dakar’s popular mayor on Thursday, preventing him from campaigning in upcoming legislative elections and likely sparking further tensions with supporters of his rival, President Macky Sall.
Mayor Khalifa Sall (no relation) was arrested more than four months
ago on corruption charges and has been serially denied bail, but is at the top of a list of opposition coalition candidates vying for 165 seats in the July 30 vote.
The mayor has not exhausted his appeals in the case and another bail
request is pending before a Senegalese court.
His lawyer told AFP the mayor was being “deprived of his political
right to solicit votes from fellow citizens” as well as “his own right to vote” after the Supreme Court decision, which upholds the ruling of the appeal court.
Mayor Sall was seen as a strong contender for the presidency before
his arrest over the alleged misappropriation of 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million, 2.7 million euros) in city funds.