DAKAR, Senegal (ABSTV) — Senegal’s constitutional reform agenda has evolved into the latest flashpoint in an increasingly public political struggle between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko, two former allies whose split is reshaping the country’s political landscape and raising questions about the future balance of power in one of West Africa’s most respected democracies.
The latest dispute centers on a package of constitutional amendments approved by Senegal’s National Assembly on June 29. The reforms would significantly reduce presidential powers while strengthening parliament’s oversight role, expanding legislative investigative authority, tightening restrictions on presidential dissolution of parliament, and replacing the Constitutional Council with a more powerful nine-member Constitutional Court. Justice Minister Moussa Sarr announced that President Faye has decided to submit the reforms to a national referendum rather than allow them to take effect through parliament alone.
The constitutional debate began just weeks after Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister following months of growing disagreements over governance, economic policy and institutional reforms. Sonko, leader of the ruling Pastef party, was subsequently elected president of the National Assembly, where his party commands an overwhelming parliamentary majority. That political realignment has created an unusual situation in which the president controls the executive branch while his former political partner dominates the legislature.
The proposed constitutional changes have become a symbol of that power struggle.
Supporters argue the reforms fulfill one of Faye’s long-standing campaign promises to reduce the concentration of executive authority in Senegal’s presidency. Since his election in 2024, Faye has repeatedly pledged to strengthen democratic institutions, improve transparency, and reinforce parliamentary oversight after years of criticism that successive presidents accumulated excessive constitutional powers.
Critics, however, contend that the timing has transformed constitutional reform into a political contest between two men who once campaigned together under the “Diomaye–Sonko” banner. Opposition parties accuse Pastef of using its parliamentary dominance to weaken the presidency while consolidating legislative influence under Sonko. Public demonstrations outside parliament reflected those concerns, with protesters denouncing the amendments before police dispersed crowds with tear gas and detained several opposition activists.
Political analysts say the constitutional dispute cannot be separated from the broader breakdown of relations between Faye and Sonko. Their alliance helped deliver a decisive electoral victory in 2024 after years of opposition politics, but disagreements over economic management, negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, institutional reforms and the pace of governance gradually widened into an open political rupture.
The referendum now places the ultimate decision in the hands of Senegalese voters.
If approved, the reforms would represent one of Africa’s rare examples of constitutional amendments designed to reduce presidential authority rather than expand it. At the same time, they would strengthen parliament at a moment when it is controlled by Sonko’s political movement, adding another layer of complexity to Senegal’s evolving political system.
For Senegal, the constitutional vote is about more than legal reform. It will test whether democratic institutions can manage a rivalry between two of the country’s most influential political figures without triggering prolonged institutional paralysis. The outcome could redefine executive-legislative relations and shape Senegal’s democratic trajectory for years to come.
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