Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko will finally not make his General Policy Declaration scheduled for today, Friday. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has taken the decision to dissolve the National Assembly. During his address to the Nation yesterday, he justified his action by accusing the parliamentary majority of “rowing against the will of the Senegalese people.”

From September 12, the dissolution of the National Assembly was only a matter of time. The President of the Republic therefore, unsurprisingly, decided yesterday, during his address to the Nation, to end the 14th legislature, 24 hours before the date he himself had set for the General Policy Statement of his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who made it clear in his speech that he is not in a fool’s game, gave his reasons.

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He declared: « My oath, before God and the Nation, to honour our institutions, is soaked in the blood of the Senegalese who fell, the national ideal slung over their shoulders, during the many struggles for our democracy. Unfortunately, the parliamentary majority has decided to row against the will of the Senegalese people, which was clearly expressed on the evening of March 24, 2024. » With supporting arguments, President Faye criticized the parliamentary majority for having refused « on June 29, 2024, to hold the Budget Orientation Debate, which is nevertheless mandatory, for the simplistic reason of a supposed political attack. » Which, in his eyes, is a « violation of a legal obligation provided for by article 56 of the organic law relating to finance laws, will have seriously contributed to tarnishing the image of Senegal in the eyes of international institutions. »

Then, he mentioned in his speech, the rejection of the « constitutional revision project aimed at fulfilling the promise » he made « to the People to abolish the High Council of Local Authorities (HCCT) and the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), while the situation of public finances urgently requires rationalizing public spending. » Still in the context of the justification for his decision to dissolve this institution, Bassirou Diomaye Faye accused the Assembly of having usurped « the constitutional prerogatives of the President of the Republic to set a date for the General Policy Declaration, in flagrant violation of Article 84 of the Constitution and Article 97 of the organic law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. » The President’s anger was certainly heightened by « the threat of a motion of censure that this majority is holding over the government. »

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Returning to the date of September 13, 2024 for the General Policy Declaration that he imposed on the Assembly, President Faye maintains that « it was not a question of deceiving the Senegalese people, but simply of firmly establishing the authority of the Law. » And to recall, through actions, that « the political order, under my leadership, will never supplant the legal order. » And to add: « It was therefore my legal, ethical and moral duty not to give the slightest shred of tolerance to the detractors of the Law. I therefore concluded that the pledge of frank collaboration with the parliamentary majority, in the sole interest of the Senegalese People, was an illusion. The latter having decided to turn away from the People to promote the cult of blockage and thus hinder the implementation of the Project on the basis of which I was elected.

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According to him, by taking this decision, he intends to « ask the sovereign People for the institutional means » that will « allow him to give substance to the systemic transformation » that he promised them. And to conclude: « Today more than ever, the time has come to open a new temporality to our five-year term. Article 3 of our Constitution recalls that national sovereignty belongs to the People.  In doing so, the People are invited to take back their authorisation titles and to decide sovereignly whether the National Assembly should reflect the deep aspirations for change that were expressed on the evening of March 24, 2024, or whether it should remain the last blocking avatar of a fallen regime. In any case, the government guarantees the proper organization of the elections and the free and democratic expression of the People’s choice.  May the best win!

By Dieynaba KANE / dkane@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH