Following the National Assembly’s approval of the proposed constitutional amendments, Ousmane Sonko meticulously detailed the process that led to this reform. He then directly attributed responsibility for the controversies surrounding the text to the Head of State. “If there was any manipulation, it originated from the President of the Republic. He reviewed the document, selecting what suited him and discarding what did not. The Constitution does not belong to Bassirou Diomaye Faye,” Sonko asserted forcefully.
Sonko elaborated on his concerns by citing specific provisions he believes the Head of State deliberately excluded. These included requirements for asset declarations at the end of a presidential term and a ban on the President of the Republic concurrently leading a political party. He then challenged the legitimacy of such actions: “By what authority can a single individual arbitrarily choose between provisions that align with their interests and those that do not? This is utterly unacceptable,” he emphasized.
Indeed, Ousmane Sonko underscored the fundamental hierarchy of constitutional powers, explicitly denying the President of the Republic the role of a constituent authority. “The President is not a constituent power. The derived constituent power resides with the National Assembly. The original constituent power belongs to the people, exercised when they are called upon through a referendum,” he clarified.
