Court bars candidates from presidential poll

Senegal's Constitutional Court has published an official list of five candidates to contest next month's presidential election, including President Macky Sall. However, a report on the News24 site notes that it has excluded two prominent opposition figures. The seven-member court confirmed a provisional list issued last week that barred former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and ex-minister Karim Wade because of convictions for misuse of public funds. Aside from Macky Sall, the four other candidates in the 24 February vote will be opposition MP Ousmane Sonko; former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck; Madicke Niang, an associate of former President Abdoulaye Wade and El Hadji Sall of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR). Thousands of supporters of both barred politicians have staged protests in recent months calling for fair and transparent elections while challenging the impartiality of the justice and interior ministries.