Risque de blocage institutionnel : « Le Président de la République a un droit de vie et de mort sur l’Assemblée Nationale » (Pr Meïssa Diakhaté)
The balance of power, or cohabitation—whether smooth or harsh—between the executive and legislative branches is an illusion that took root in the minds of some pro-Ousmane Sonko activists in the aftermath of the split between the two. According to Professor Meissa Diakhaté, a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Political and Legal Sciences at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, our political system, which resembles an "institutional patchwork," gives the President of the Republic, in theory as well as in practice, levers that grant him total ascendancy over the National Assembly. According to him, the Head of State "has the power of life and death over the National Assembly."
By analyzing the architecture of the Second Republic from the outset to support his argument, the legal scholar paints a portrait of an "unclassifiable" and "hybrid" system, inherited from the 1962 crisis, which shifted the country toward a strengthened presidential system at the expense of traditional parliamentarism. Since the 1963 constitutional reform, he emphasizes, Senegal has broken with the classic parliamentary model where executive power was shared. This regime, which he describes as "sui generis," borrows elements from both systems, but without guaranteeing the same outcomes. This "institutional patchwork," far from fostering collaboration between the two branches of government (executive and legislative)—currently controlled by two antagonistic factions within the Pastef party—creates a glaring structural imbalance where cohabitation is impossible.
Dissolution vs. motion of censure: asymmetrical powers
In this discreet confrontation between the President of the Republic and his now former Prime Minister and current Speaker of the National Assembly, the weapon of a motion of censure has been brandished several times. But, the professor points out, there is a complete asymmetry in the powers of the two institutions. Indeed, while the Head of State has full latitude to dissolve the National Assembly, subject to a time constraint (two years after the installation of the legislature) and the activation of emergency powers (Article 52), Parliament has no equivalent means to end the presidential term.
Furthermore, Professor Diakhaté adds, even Parliament's traditional weapon, the motion of censure, is neutralized by constitutional practice. "If the deputies bring down the government, nothing prevents the President from reappointing the same government the very next day, rendering any parliamentary attempt (motion of censure) null and void for the duration of the budget session," he emphasizes during a roundtable organized by the Wathi Think Tank.
Beyond the threat of dissolution, it is the daily work of elected officials that seems to be hampered. According to him, it is the National Assembly itself, through its internal regulations, that is organizing its inability to oversee the government's actions without the approval of the President of the Republic.
According to the National Assembly's rules of procedure, hearings involving members of the government or directors general of semi-public entities are subject to an "agreement in principle" from the executive branch. The President of the Republic, or the relevant minister, can simply choose not to respond to requests from members of parliament. For Professor Diakhaté, this administrative constraint transforms parliamentary oversight into a favor granted by the executive branch, rather than a fundamental right.
Promulgation, a legislative impasse
The other obstacle to a balance of power between the executive and legislative branches is the power to promulgate laws. The 2022 law makes the entry into force of a law contingent upon two steps: a promulgation decree (the exclusive prerogative of the Head of State) and publication in the Official Gazette (managed by the General Secretariat of the Government, located within the Prime Minister's Office). If the President refuses to promulgate the law, the National Assembly finds itself in a complete legal deadlock, unable to enact its own legislation.
The same provisions give the President of the National Assembly the power to promulgate a law in the event of refusal by the executive but do not provide for any practical modalities.
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