Senegal: Ousmane Sonko accuses president Diomaye Faye of betraying constitutional pledges

The revision of Senegal’s constitution has exposed unprecedented tensions at the top of the state. After the National Assembly passed the draft law, its speaker, Ousmane Sonko, publicly criticised President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, accusing him of seeking to alter provisions that he himself defended when he was in the opposition.

Addressing deputies, Ousmane Sonko stressed that this constitutional reform stems from over a decade of political reflection, fed by the conclusions of a national dialogue and the work of several expert commissions. He argued that such commitments cannot be called into question by the preferences of a single leader.

“The constitution does not belong to Bassirou Diomaye Faye,” he said, denouncing the head of state’s attempt to backtrack on specific provisions, notably the mandatory declaration of assets at the end of a presidential term and the ban on the president leading a political party.

“You cannot take a text, go through it article by article, and say: no, I no longer want to declare my assets when I leave office; no, I want to be party president,” insisted the National Assembly speaker.

According to Ousmane Sonko, this move marks a break from the historical commitments of the Pastef party since 2014. He accused the head of state of having begun to “tamper” with the reform project by keeping only the provisions that benefit him.

“He started to see what suited him and what did not suit him as president of the republic,” he stated. Despite these criticisms, Ousmane Sonko called on Bassirou Diomaye Faye to promulgate the law adopted by deputies. He said the qualified majority vote is sufficient to validate the constitutional revision, making a referendum unnecessary.

Concluding his speech with a loaded question, he wondered “What has changed in our little brother and president?”, before expressing the hope that the head of state would return to what he considers the founding principles of his political commitment and respect the promises made to the Senegalese people.