Senegal Opposition Leader In Intensive Care After Hunger Strike

(Bloomberg) -- Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, widely seen as the main challenger to the ruling coalition in presidential elections next year, has been hospitalized.

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Sonko, who has been at the center of a political crisis that has rocked Senegal for months, was admitted to intensive care after launching a hunger strike, a spokesman for the Pastef-Les Patriotes party said in a text message.

Sonko, 49, went on a hunger strike last month after he was arrested and charged with plotting an insurrection, criminal conspiracy and spreading fake news.

He was taken to the hospital after he “lost consciousness,” the spokesman said.

While Sonko is considered the biggest threat to President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition in next year’s polls, his mounting legal problems are making it increasingly unlikely that he will contest the elections.

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