Ousmane Sonko challenges constitutional ruling, criticizes president Diomaye Faye

During his recent tour through the Baol region, Ousmane Sonko significantly escalated his critique against President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Speaking in Touba this past Sunday, where he officially opened the new Pastef-Touba headquarters and led a discussion on current political challenges, the prominent Pastef leader openly questioned the rationale behind the Constitutional Council’s decision to invalidate the proposed constitutional revision law.

 

Initially, the President of the National Assembly had urged adherence to the high court’s ruling, emphasizing its universal binding nature. However, his discourse shifted notably during his address in Touba. He directly attacked the presidential administration’s pattern of repeatedly referring matters to the Constitutional Council, asserting, “Every week, he will seize the Constitutional Council.” This statement underscored his concern that the Head of State was systematically employing the judiciary’s arbitration to circumvent parliamentary initiatives.

 

Ousmane Sonko further elaborated his stance by challenging the very foundation of the Constitutional Council’s verdict, declaring, “The Constitutional Council cannot dictate that deputies must pass laws solely to appease the President of the Republic.” This represented a direct rebuttal to the seven judges’ reasoning, even though their invalidation was ostensibly based on procedural grounds, specifically citing the lack of compensatory resources for new public expenditures outlined in the text and non-compliance with the blocked vote procedure. The Pastef leader concluded his remarks with a grave warning: “What is unfolding in this nation is deeply concerning.”

 

These pronouncements from the President of the National Assembly signal a significant shift from his earlier communication strategy, which, immediately following the July 9 decision, had adopted a tone of institutional conciliation. His current remarks coincide with Pastef’s tour across the Baol region. While officially framed as an outreach initiative to strengthen local presence, the tour is increasingly perceived as a political counter-offensive. This comes amidst a strategic realignment by the Presidency, which has recently hosted hundreds of mayors and revealed plans to establish its own political party.