Actus. The Senegalese Constitutional Council recently declared its inability to review a legal challenge brought by the opposition. This challenge concerned the reinstatement of Ousmane Sonko to the National Assembly, followed by his subsequent election as the institution’s president. This ruling effectively concludes the legal proceedings initiated by opposition factions, who had contested the legality of both his return to parliament and his election, arguing they contravened parliamentary regulations.
The Senegalese Constitutional Council formally stated its “incompetence” to address an opposition appeal challenging the reintegration of former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko into the National Assembly, a move that preceded his election as its president on May 26.
Just days after his dismissal from the prime ministerial office, Ousmane Sonko, the influential leader of the Pastef party — which commands a significant parliamentary majority — was reinstated as a member of the Assembly before being elected to the Speaker’s chair.
no further recourse for the opposition
His election sparked considerable controversy among opposition groups, who contended that his return to the legislative body violated internal parliamentary rules. They vehemently denounced this sequence of events as an “institutional coup d’état.”
With the Constitutional Council’s decision, the opposition now finds itself without any further legal avenues for appeal. Having been barred from participating in the March 2024 presidential election, Ousmane Sonko assumed the role of Prime Minister in April 2024, following the presidential victory of his close associate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
As the head of the Pastef party list, the former Prime Minister secured an impressive 130 out of 165 parliamentary seats during the November 2024 legislative elections. However, he had previously relinquished his parliamentary mandate to continue serving as head of government.
“we will not associate ourselves with this charade”
The opposition maintained that for Sonko to legitimately reclaim his position as a deputy, he should have first resigned from his Prime Minister post at the time, to temporarily serve in the National Assembly before potentially returning to government. Opposition deputy Abdou Mbow had stated in late April, “The parliamentary majority has installed someone, Ousmane Sonko, who has already lost his mandate as a deputy and cannot regain it. We will not associate ourselves with this charade.” Nevertheless, following the Constitutional Council’s definitive ruling, the Pastef leader retains his position at the helm of the National Assembly, from which he could potentially exercise a significant counter-power to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, his former ally, with whom a political rift is now widely acknowledged.
- Politique
- Senegal
