Sonko dismisses rumors of ultimatum to Senegal’s president

In a decisive move to quash political speculation, Ousmane Sonko, President of Senegal’s National Assembly, has firmly denied claims of issuing an ultimatum to the country’s president. Addressing lawmakers during a plenary session focused on labor and social security codes, he clarified the Assembly’s role in the ongoing constitutional reform process, urging a calm understanding of institutional procedures.

« It’s false; no ultimatum was ever directed at the president, » Sonko declared, dismissing any notion of institutional tension or pressure on the presidency. His statement came amid interpretations suggesting a supposed ultimatum tied to the presidential opinion on the constitutional reform bill. Sonko emphasized that the parliamentary initiative strictly adheres to constitutional prerogatives, with no confrontation intended against the executive branch.

The reform, he explained, is part of a broader institutional project that has been publicly debated for months. Sonko framed the process as a legitimate exercise of the Assembly’s derived constituent power, fully compliant with the Constitution and the jurisprudence of Senegal’s Constitutional Council. He cited the Council’s January 18, 2006 decision as a key precedent validating the Assembly’s authority to pursue reform with a three-fifths qualified majority.

No crisis at the heart of the state

Sonko pushed back against political narratives portraying institutional friction. « There is no crisis at the summit of the state, » he asserted, describing the situation as a normal functioning of powers within a « dialogue of institutions. » Each constitutional body, he argued, operates within its defined competencies, under the oversight of the Constitutional Council. The Assembly’s initiative, he stressed, is neither an overreach nor an attempt to pressure the executive.

« Those who anticipated a crisis at the highest level of government will have to look elsewhere, » Sonko concluded, reaffirming the continuity of the parliamentary process. The constitutional reform, he stated, will proceed according to established procedures, regardless of whether the executive formally weighs in. The focus, he emphasized, remains on upholding the Constitution’s institutional mechanisms in a stable and legally sound framework.