Pressures have continued to gather over plans by Senegalese President, Macky Sall to run for a third term as hundreds of Senegalese took their demonstration to Paris on Saturday against the President’s third term bid.

The protest was organised by the party of opposition figure Ousmane Sonko who came third in the 2019 elections and has since emerged as the main opponent of President Macky Sall.

The participants claim that at least 102 of its members have been detained for crimes of opinion.

French-Senegalese teacher, Moulaye Aidara. told newsmen that “because Senegal, as everyone knows, is a country that has not taken the same path as other countries in Africa. It is a country that has shown the world that it is a democratic country, that has chosen democracy as a concept where there have been two political alternations”, said

“Perhaps today we no longer want to talk about neo-colonialism, about France-Africa, we’re fed up, the French are fed up, the Africans are fed up. Today, we want democratic countries that take charge of their destinies and the destiny of their youth so that young people are no longer obliged to take a boat to come to Europe, to France”, added Moulaye Aidara.

The French-Senegalese teacher. “Politicians are put in prison every time they speak. Ousmane Sonko, in any case, there is a real cabal against him. Whatever he says, whatever he does, they put sticks in his wheels, we know very well what they want to do. They want to prevent him from running in 2024, and the Senegalese will not accept that.”

According to freedomhouse, Senegal is one of Africa’s most stable electoral democracies and has undergone peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000. However, politically motivated prosecutions of opposition leaders and changes to the electoral laws have reduced the competitiveness of the opposition in recent years.

Activists and civil rights defenders claim that Senegal’s civil liberties are under threat ahead of the presidential election in February 2024.