President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has opted to send the constitutional amendment to a national referendum, effectively halting the opposition’s triumph in parliament. This audacious strategy reignites discussions on constitutional changes and alters the power dynamics within the National Assembly.
As majority lawmakers handed Pastef a legislative win by approving the constitutional revision bill with 129 votes, the decisive move came from the presidential palace. That move shifts the entire landscape. Minister of Justice Me Moussa Sarr disclosed that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye will not move forward with promulgating the bill as it emerged from the National Assembly. Instead, he invoked Article 103 of the constitution to put the reform to a popular vote. This decision effectively neutralises Pastef’s parliamentary success. What seemed like a clear path to quick adoption was upended. Even after the government’s proposed amendments were turned down, the majority deputies passed the committee version, bolstering the initiators’ political agenda. Yet behind closed doors, Bassirou Diomaye Faye…
