The Pastef parliamentary majority passed the constitutional revision bill with 129 votes in support. The opposition, however, boycotted the session after one of its members, Abdou Mbow, was ejected from the chamber for refusing to leave the podium.

Justice Minister Moussa Sarr represented the government and argued for its four amendments, all of which were rejected by the majority deputies. From the National Assembly, the atmosphere was tense as the government’s proposals were voted down.

Opposition boycott

Opposition deputies accused National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko of violating internal rules and decided to boycott the session. They labelled the Pastef-proposed revision an “outrage.” Aïssata Tall Sall, head of the opposition parliamentary group, stated: “The goal was achieved. We wanted to show the world that what is happening at the National Assembly is dictatorship and perfidy. They mobilised gendarmes to remove a deputy who was only exercising his right to speak. Objective achieved.”

Government and Pastef at odds

Justice Minister Moussa Sarr saw all four of his amendments rejected by Pastef deputies. The amendments concerned what he viewed as a disruption of the balance between the president and the National Assembly in favour of the latter. He explained: “This revision touches major constitutional issues and alters the balance of our regime: rationalisation of the motion of censure, limitation of the right to dissolution, modalities for completing the Constitutional Court, and articulation with our fundamental status and international commitments. Expanding the possibility to table a motion of censure to ten times during a legislature while allowing only one dissolution for the president during his term breaks the traditional institutional balance.”

Divisions between Diomaye Faye and Sonko camps

Among the points of contention between Pastef and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is the requirement for asset declaration at the start and end of a term. According to Ousmane Sonko, this should not be a point of difference. The National Assembly president reminded that these were commitments made. “The president took the text and kept only what suits him. The constitution does not belong to Bassirou Diomaye Faye. To say ‘I will not make a final asset declaration’ or ‘I want to be party president’ — these are commitments from a political dialogue carried by the party. For over ten years, we have fought this fight together. By what right does one person get to pick and choose what suits him?”

Ousmane Sonko called on President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to promulgate the law. The head of state, however, prefers to submit the text to a referendum. The reform sparked protests from the opposition and civil society on Monday morning near the National Assembly.