“Diomaye-Sonko, new season,” sums up the tense relations between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Sonko was dismissed from the premiership on May 22, but just four days later he secured the presidency of the National Assembly.
A new season indeed, as two blocs now confront each other over a constitutional reform: the executive and the legislature. This has been described as a “clash of institutions.”
On June 29, the National Assembly adopted a proposed constitutional revision. The Pastef party, led by Sonko, holds 130 of the 165 seats. However, at the start of the debate, Minister of Justice Me Moussa Sarr announced that the adoption would be subject to a future referendum.
Transformation of the institutional architecture
The text has divided opinion. The government’s four amendment proposals were rejected by the law commission. The session before the June 29 vote took place in a tense atmosphere. In protest, opposition deputies walked out of the chamber.
“This reform, driven by the majority from the
