Senegal’s constitutional revision law passed amid opposition boycott

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill tabled by Pastef, while rejecting the government’s proposed amendments.

Pastef’s parliamentary majority adopted the constitutional revision law with 129 votes in favour. The opposition boycotted the session, particularly after the expulsion of one of its members, Abdou Mbow, who refused to leave the podium.

Justice Minister Moussa Sarr represented the government, defending its four amendments. All of them were rejected by the majority deputies. A journalist present at the National Assembly reported.

Opposition boycott

Opposition deputies accused National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko of violating internal regulations and therefore decided to boycott the session.

They described Pastef’s proposed constitutional revision as an ‘abuse of power’.

Aïssata Tall Sall, head of the opposition parliamentary group, stated: “The goal has been achieved. It was about showing the world that what is happening at the National Assembly is dictatorship and abuse. Gendarmes were mobilised to remove a deputy who was only exercising his right to speak. That is what we wanted to show the world. Mission accomplished.”

Government-Pastef rivalry

Justice Minister Moussa Sarr saw his four amendments rejected by Pastef deputies. They concerned what he viewed as a disruption of the balance between the president and the National Assembly in favour of the latter.

He stated: “This revision touches on major constitutional issues and alters the balance of our system: rationalisation of the motion of censure, limitation of the dissolution right, modalities for completing the Constitutional Council, and articulation with our fundamental status and international commitments. Indeed, extending the ability to file a motion of censure to ten times during a legislature, while only allowing the president one dissolution during his term, breaks the traditional institutional balance.”

Disagreements between Diomaye Faye and Sonko camps

One point of disagreement between Pastef and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is the requirement for asset declarations at the beginning and end of a term. According to Ousmane Sonko, such divergence should not exist. The National Assembly president reminded that these were commitments made.

Ousmane Sonko commented: “The president took the text and kept only what suits him. The constitution does not belong to Bassirou Diomaye Faye. To say, ‘No, I will no longer declare assets at the end,’ ‘No, I want to be party president,’ when these were commitments made during a political dialogue carried by the party… For more than ten years, we have fought this battle together. In the name of what does a single person have the right to pick and choose only what suits him?”

Ousmane Sonko called on President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to promulgate the law. The head of state, however, wants to submit the text to a referendum.

This reform led to protests by opposition and civil society on Monday morning near the National Assembly.