Révision constitutionnelle : Journée décisive à l'Assemblée sur fond de divergences entre la Présidence et le Perchoir
The National Assembly is preparing for a crucial plenary session this Monday, June 29, 2026. Members of Parliament will meet to examine and vote on a proposed constitutional amendment, a text that redefines the balance of power between the Executive and the Legislative branches. This parliamentary initiative comes amidst a marked political disagreement between the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, one month after the latter's departure from the Prime Minister's office.
The review of this reform by the Law Commission highlighted a desire to rebalance institutional prerogatives. One of the major changes concerns the status of the Head of State, who will no longer be able to lead a political party or a coalition. Furthermore, the drafting of the government program must now be done in consultation with the Prime Minister, who also regains the power to appoint civil servants. The text also introduces significant technical safeguards, notably the amendment to Article 87 to stipulate that the dissolution of the National Assembly can only occur once during a single presidential term. In parallel, the amendment to Article 86 limits the use of a motion of censure to a maximum of two attempts per year, while establishing a mechanism for engaging financial accountability, inspired by the French model, to facilitate the adoption of finance bills.
This reorganization of the state structure has sparked strong reactions from the presidential coalition, Diomaye Président. Meeting in a leaders' conference this Sunday, June 28, the coalition's coordinator, Aminata Touré, accompanied by figures such as lawyer Abdoulaye Tine, denounced an attempt to distort the original draft resulting from the national dialogue on justice. She believes the initial project was altered in committee in order to improperly transfer powers from the President of the Republic to Parliament, asserting that "the project presented by the President has simply been hijacked" and that "through these amendments, the text has become unrecognizable."
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Faced with what she considers a political maneuver, the former Prime Minister reiterated that the president retains the prerogative to consult the people directly through a referendum, warning that "the Senegalese people will not accept a disguised parliamentary system being imposed upon them" and that "if necessary, we will hold a referendum." She also lamented that the legislative agenda is focused on these issues while "farmers are waiting for seeds, young people are looking for jobs, and families are struggling with the high cost of living."
From the opposition and civil society, criticism focuses primarily on the method used. Seydou Guèye, spokesperson for the Alliance for the Republic (APR), argues that such a revision of the fundamental charter should have been subject to a prior referendum rather than an emergency parliamentary procedure. Former minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam, for his part, fears the establishment of a hybrid regime, conducive to institutional gridlock.
This protest resonates with citizen movements like Y en a marre, which strongly denounces "a blatant lack of transparency" and "an unacceptable political pressure that excludes citizens from the fundamental choices of the nation."
The newly formed unified framework Aar Sunu République, which brings together trade unions and civil society organizations, also demands the immediate withdrawal of the text and has announced the organization of a citizen demonstration on Friday, July 10 in Dakar.
As the vote approached, tensions shifted to the realm of citizen mobilization. The parliamentary majority issued clear messages, calling for a "general mobilization" of "all patriots" in front of the National Assembly to stand in solidarity with their representatives. The mayor of Dakar, Abass Fall, invited citizens to join this peaceful gathering, issuing a solemn appeal: "In calm and serenity, let us go and support our representatives tomorrow for the vote on the proposed constitutional reform bill. No party symbols, no partisan slogans! Only the people matter!"
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