During his recent tour through the Baol region, Ousmane Sonko significantly escalated his critique of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Speaking in Touba this Sunday, where he inaugurated the Pastef-Touba headquarters and delivered a lecture on current political challenges, the Pastef leader directly addressed the Constitutional Council’s decision to invalidate the constitutional revision law, openly challenging its underlying rationale.
Initially, the President of the National Assembly had urged adherence to the high court’s ruling, asserting its universal binding nature. However, his discourse shifted notably in Touba. He directly attacked the presidential administration’s repeated appeals to the Constitutional Council, declaring, «Every week, he refers to the Constitutional Council.» This statement underscored his disapproval of what he views as the Head of State’s habitual reliance on the «Sages’» arbitration to circumvent parliamentary initiatives.
Ousmane Sonko further developed his argument by challenging the very foundation of the Council’s decision, asserting, «The Constitutional Council cannot dictate that deputies must pass laws solely to appease the President of the Republic.» This constituted a direct challenge to the rationale employed by the seven judges, who had justified their invalidation on procedural grounds, specifically citing the lack of compensatory resources for new public expenditures mandated by the text and a failure to adhere to the blocked vote procedure. The Pastef leader concluded his address with a grave warning: «What is unfolding in this nation is deeply serious.»
These statements from the National Assembly President signal a significant shift in his public communication, which had initially adopted a stance of institutional appeasement following the July 9 decision. This intensified rhetoric emerges as Pastef’s tour in the Baol region, originally framed as a grassroots outreach and territorial strengthening effort, increasingly appears to be a political counter-offensive. This comes in response to the Presidency’s ongoing efforts at political realignment, which recently saw hundreds of mayors hosted and an announcement regarding the imminent formation of its own political party.
