The cancellation of the postponement of the Presidential Election will undoubtedly reshuffle the cards in this bitter struggle for power, particularly on the side of the dissolved party, the main force of the opposition.

It is a godsend for the pro-Sonko candidate Diomaye Faye, already in the running. On the other hand, if the election is not held based on the decision of the seven “wise men” of the Constitutional Council, a return of Sonko to the political scene will undoubtedly break the pattern looming on the horizon.

This presidential election resembles a Greek tragedy, with suspense, mystery, and misunderstandings. After its spectacular postponement on February 3 and the decision of the Constitutional Council upsetting the previous agenda, we can expect anything.

For instance, seeing Bassirou Diomaye Faye, candidate in detention, released is a plausible hypothesis in this context marked by a wave of releases of his fellow activists described as “political detainees” by his party.

Will President Macky Sall, as part of a political “space appeasement” dynamic, follow through with his logic to get Sonko out of his cell in Sébikotane prison? Whatever the answer, it is a thorn in his side, given the legal loophole allowing a Presidential candidate in prison to campaign and record his airtime.

The message to the Nation on the postponement also spoiled this curiosity since Diomaye Faye had to go to RTS a few hours earlier. We will never know what the CNRA was going to do.

But how can we achieve political appeasement with a view to initiating consultations while two political VIPs are languishing in jails?

Yet, from the point of view of the electoral weight and popularity enjoyed by his political party, letting him campaign in the middle of the crowds would amount to marking the route to the Palace for Sonko, and to the detriment of the candidate of the ruling coalition, Amadou Bâ.

While one step away from regaining his eligibility, Sonko saw his candidacy postponed. The negotiations for a dialogue and the amnesty project as the icing on the cake, which would be abandoned, were intended to put Sonko back in the game.

The postponement would have allowed a total resumption of the electoral process. At that time, if the mayor of Ziguinchor was to regain his eligibility, he would therefore be in “his” place, the very place currently occupied by Diomaye.

But regardless of the hypothetical, even if “Diomaye mooy Sonko,” this cancellation of the postponement clearly, and decisively, postpones the candidacy of the leader of exPastef, Ousman. Amnesty or not, Sonko’s fate in this election is clearly sealed as the Constitutional Council has maintained the list of 20 selected candidates.

Even if freed and restored through dialogue, the star of Cap Manuel prison cannot be a candidate for this presidential election. It remains to be seen what the “consultations” – or dialogue? – announced by the Head of State, Macky Sall, who takes note of the cancellation of the postponement, will yield as a result leading to the organization of a presidential election “as soon as possible.”