Senegal's Sonko Resurfaces

Ousmane Sonko, one of Senegal's leading opposition figures, made his first public appearance in months, just a day after his release from jail, greeting hundreds of supporters in the capital Dakar.

Sonko arrived at a hotel to hold a press conference with his deputy, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was also released from prison and who Sonko has endorsed as a candidate for the March 24 presidential vote.

He predicted a large first-round victory for Faye if the presidential vote went ahead without fraud.

"If the election goes well, I don't think we'll get less than 60 percent," he said.

He called on "the Senegalese people to remain vigilant, especially as there are rumors of corruption circulating".

Just hours earlier, Senegal's Supreme Court confirmed the date of the delayed presidential election, rejecting an attempt by disqualified candidates to cancel the date.

The petitioners had wanted presidential decrees setting the date for the election and the duration of the campaign to be suspended.

But the court said the issue did not fall within its purview, adding that the Constitutional Council had "full jurisdiction in electoral matters".

President Macky Sall had postponed the February election, trying to push it back to December at the last minute, sparking a crisis and deadly protests.

The Constitutional Council stepped in, forcing him to reset the date to March 24.

Disqualified from running in this vote, 49-year-old Sonko has been at the center of a more than two year stand-off with the state.

He has endorsed his deputy, Faye, to replace him on the presidential ballot.

43-year-old Faye, smiling and raising his arms to the sky after almost a year behind bars, praised the "support and solidarity" of his followers.

Faye and Sonko benefitted from an amnesty law passed by MPs last week.