Assemblée : Thierno Alassane Sall et Ousmane Sonko s'écharpent sur l'article 77 !
Tensions rose again this Thursday at the National Assembly, following the incident that occurred moments earlier between the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, and MP Abdou Mbow. This time, it was Thierno Alassane Sall who questioned the Speaker regarding the interpretation of Article 77 of the Rules of Procedure.
Taking the floor, Thierno Alassane Sall requested permission to refer to this provision to justify his intervention. He insisted on the need to explain the context in which he invoked this article: "I would like to refer to Article 77 of our Rules of Procedure," he stated, before asking to read the provision and explain the reasons for his appeal. Ousmane Sonko then asked him to simply read the text. The Speaker of the Assembly reminded him that it was not within the purview of a member of parliament to interrupt a colleague and that he alone was authorized to maintain order during the proceedings.
Thierno Alassane Sall invokes freedom of debate
Thierno Alassane Sall then read aloud the provisions of Article 77, particularly those relating to freedom of legislative debate and adherence to the topic under discussion. Based on this provision, he argued that when a speaker deviates from the topic, the Speaker can call them back to the question, and then potentially ensure that their remarks are not recorded in the minutes or issue a warning. However, according to his interpretation, the rules of procedure do not allow the Speaker to simply cut off a member of parliament.
“The president doesn’t have the power to interrupt him and prevent him from speaking,” he argued. For Thierno Alassane Sall, parliamentary debate must remain free: “This is democracy,” he declared, criticizing the presiding officer for trying to dictate what members of parliament can and cannot express. He also referred to previous legislatures, stating that parliamentarians have always been able to express their opinions in the chamber.
Sonko : "Freedom does not mean chaos or indiscipline."
Ousmane Sonko firmly rejected this interpretation of the rules. The Speaker of the National Assembly reiterated that the freedom of parliamentary debate is exercised within a strictly organized framework: "We are in an Assembly where debate is free, but framed and structured. Freedom does not mean chaos or indiscipline," he emphasized.
Ousmane Sonko also denounced interventions he believes are designed to provoke a media reaction: "I get the impression that some MPs come here for their five minutes of fame, to create a buzz in front of the cameras, and it's all over the place," he declared. According to him, at this stage of the proceedings, Thierno Alassane Sall could only raise a preliminary motion and could not use Article 77 to shift the debate to other considerations.
The Speaker of the Assembly finally assumed his role as the person responsible for maintaining order during the debates: "His interpretation of Article 77 and the notion of a reminder of order are his alone. As presiding officer, I offer a different interpretation," declared Ousmane Sonko, before concluding: "We will therefore continue the debate."
This new exchange of words comes just minutes after the clash between Ousmane Sonko and Abdou Mbow, giving the plenary session devoted to the cybersecurity bill a strong political tone.
Commentaires (15)
THIERNO BALGNOU DAGNO DIOUM nékété ki minw rek ladone déf il est archi nul.
TAS2029
58% de cancres et 4000 cancres imaginaires.
C'était une erreur. Sonko n'aura même pas 20% aux prochaines élections.
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