Senegal’s constitutional reform sparks institutional clash

“Diomaye-Sonko, new season,” reads the front page of Tuesday, June 30, referring to the tense relationship between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Dismissed from the premiership on May 22, Sonko won the presidency of the National Assembly four days later.

New season, because two blocs are now clashing over a constitutional reform: the executive and the legislature. It is, as one newspaper puts it, a “clash of institutions.”

On June 29, the National Assembly — where Ousmane Sonko’s party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics, and Fraternity (Pastef), holds 130 of 165 seats — adopted a constitutional revision proposal. However, before the review began, the Minister of Justice, Me Moussa Sarr, announced that its adoption would be subject to an upcoming referendum.

Transformation of the institutional architecture

The text divides opinion. The government’s four proposed amendments were rejected by the law committee. The review preceding the June 29 vote took place in a heated atmosphere, with opposition deputies walking out of the chamber in protest.

“This reform, carried by the majority that emerged from the