"Political warfare": Abdou Mbow accuses Diomaye and Sonko of settling their scores through the Constitution

In the National Assembly, the debate on the revision of Article 37 of the Constitution took a decidedly political turn. Speaking in plenary session, MP Abdou Mbow challenged the relevance of the reform, arguing that it did not address the immediate concerns of the Senegalese people.

For him, a constitutional revision must first and foremost allow the fundamental rules of the country to be adapted to the evolution of society and the needs of citizens. " The benefit of a constitutional revision for the people is to evolve the rules of the game in the country so that they better reflect reality and the needs of citizens ," he explained.

The MP identified four objectives that, in his view, should justify such a reform: better protecting rights and freedoms, improving the functioning of the state and public services, strengthening democracy and the country's stability, and finally, responding to new social realities. However, he argues that none of these objectives correspond to the text currently submitted to the MPs. " Among these four points, there is nothing that justifies this constitutional revision ," he declared, before denouncing what he considers a " political battle between the President of the Republic and the leader of Pastef ."

" What do the Senegalese gain from this?"

Abdou Mbow focused particularly on the government's amendment concerning asset declarations. While the initial text only concerned the President of the Republic, the government amendment proposes to also include the Prime Minister and the President of the National Assembly. According to the MP, this change does not address any urgent needs of the population. " What do the Senegalese people gain from this? " he asked.

He believes that a comprehensive constitutional reform should have been undertaken, possibly through a referendum, to allow for a genuine national debate. Abdou Mbow accuses the government of diverting attention from the daily concerns of Senegalese people.

The offensive on political funds

The parliamentarian then broadened his attack to the issue of political funds, specifically the figure of 1.7 billion CFA francs mentioned in the public debate. He asserted that this issue would soon return to the forefront of discussions and demanded that Ousmane Sonko explain himself to the Senegalese people. " The day after tomorrow, we'll revisit the 1.7 billion you're trying to justify ," he declared.

Abdou Mbow also mentioned an additional 900 million CFA francs that he attributes to Ousmane Sonko, which he claims was intended for the purchase of vehicles. On this point, he accuses the former Prime Minister of holding contradictory positions: " Every day, he says one thing and its opposite. Yesterday, he said it was haram, today it's halal ," he remarked ironically.

“ You share the same assessment.”

Beyond the constitutional reform, Abdou Mbow addressed the issue of shared responsibility between Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko. He argued that the two men cannot now attempt to separate their records after having governed together for nearly two years. " You and Diomaye cannot erase what you and he accomplished over the past two years. You share the same record ," he asserted.

The MP believes that the constitutional reform is part of a desire to divert political debate and rewrite responsibilities: " You want to come here and carry out a political whitewashing operation ," he accused.