Ousmane sonko challenges ‘seven sages’ and warns president diomaye faye on constitutional revision

During his recent tour through Baol, Ousmane Sonko, leader of Pastef, significantly escalated his criticism against President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Convening this Sunday in Touba, where he inaugurated the Pastef-Touba headquarters and delivered a lecture on contemporary political challenges, Sonko openly contested the reasoning behind the Constitutional Council’s decision to invalidate the constitutional revision law.

Initially, the President of the National Assembly had urged respect for the high court’s ruling, asserting its binding nature for all. However, his tone shifted dramatically in Touba. He directly attacked the presidential practice of repeatedly referring matters to the Constitutional Council, stating, “Every week, he will refer matters to the Constitutional Council.” Through this statement, Sonko denounced what he perceives as the Head of State’s systematic reliance on the Council’s arbitration to circumvent parliamentary action in Senegal politics.

Ousmane Sonko continued his argument by challenging the very logic underpinning the Council’s decision, declaring: “The Constitutional Council cannot dictate that deputies must pass laws that please the President of the Republic.” This represented a direct assault on the reasoning of the seven judges, who had based their invalidation on procedural grounds, specifically citing the absence of compensatory resources for new public expenditures created by the text and a failure to adhere to the blocked vote procedure. The Pastef leader concluded his address with a solemn warning: “What is happening in this country is serious.”

These remarks from the President of the National Assembly signify a notable shift in his communication strategy, which had initially adopted a posture of institutional appeasement following the July 9th decision. They emerge as Pastef’s Baol tour, framed as an initiative for grassroots engagement and territorial strengthening, increasingly resembles a political counter-offensive. This comes in response to the Presidency’s ongoing recomposition efforts, which have recently seen President Faye hosting hundreds of mayors and announcing the imminent creation of his own political party.