Key facts
- Senegal's National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment.
- The reform expands legislative powers and curtails presidential authority.
- The proposed changes include creating a Constitutional Court.
- Opposition groups and civil society organizations protested the amendment.
- The government plans to hold a referendum on the constitutional changes.
Members of Senegal’s National Assembly have adopted a controversial constitutional amendment that expands their role and reduces presidential powers. The reform, proposed by Ousmane Sonko's party, Pastef, comes amid rising political tensions between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Sonko, who was recently dismissed as prime minister and elected as president of the National Assembly.
The opposition views the initiative as political revenge by Sonko, who maintains significant influence over the parliamentary majority. Demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building to protest the changes, with police responding with tear gas and detaining several opposition leaders and activists.
The amendment strengthens parliament's oversight, including requiring the government to inform the legislature about agreements concerning natural resource exploitation. It also enhances the powers of parliamentary inquiry committees. Additionally, the reform proposes the creation of a Constitutional Court, replacing the current Constitutional Council, with nine members instead of seven. Other changes include making the head of state incompatible with leading a political party, limiting executive decisions between presidential elections and the proclamation of results, and imposing stricter controls on the president's power to dissolve the National Assembly.
The government has stated that the changes will be put to a referendum, though a date has not yet been set.