Court rejects ex-Dakar mayor's bid to clear record ahead of vote

Senegal's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a bid by one of the country's most popular politicians to overturn a conviction for fraud, a move likely to block him from running in next month's presidential election.

Khalifa Sall, former mayor of the capital Dakar, will be unable to contest the February 24 ballot if he cannot overturn a five-year jail term for fraudulent use of public funds.

A previous effort to overturn his conviction in August also failed, with an appeal court upholding his sentence.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court similarly rejected his appeal, with court president Amadou Baal describing it as "inadmissible and unfounded".

Sall's defence team immediately promised to make a final appeal on technical grounds, arguing that his initial arrest was the result of "a clear error," lawyer Seydou Diagne told reporters.

"The court has rejected all of his appeals... but it cannot deny Khalifa Sall his civil rights. To this day, he retains his right to vote and to stand as a candidate," said another of his lawyers, Amadou Ali Kane, as dozens of supporters gathered outside the court.

The initial verdict was handed down in March 2018 after a high-profile corruption trial which saw Sall tried for embezzling public funds. He denied the charges, claiming the trial was politically motivated.

The charges centred on 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million/2.7 million euros) of city money which was allegedly misused between 2011 and 2015.

He was acquitted on charges of criminal conspiracy, money laundering and misappropriating public funds.

A dissident member of the Socialist Party, Sall began his political activism at the age of 11.

He went on to hold various ministerial portfolios before being elected mayor of the capital in 2009 and reelected in 2014.

The position catapulted him to nationwide prominence, making him a serious potential challenger to President Macky Sall, in office since 2012.

The 63-year-old was held in pre-trial detention for nearly a year before the case came to court, and still remains behind bars.

He was sacked by the president in August 2018, a day after an appeal court upheld his conviction.

Although he and President Sall share the same family name, they are not related.