Faye dismisses the presidents of two Senegalese bodies whose dissolution he proposed through a constitutional amendment

The President calls an extraordinary session of Parliament and blocks the motion of censure presented against the Government

September 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has dismissed the heads of two bodies he proposed dissolving by amending the country’s constitution, a proposal rejected on Tuesday by parliament, dominated by the coalition that brings together opposition parties.

Faye has thus dismissed the president of the High Council of Territorial Collectivities (HCCT), Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, and the president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, according to the Secretary General of the Senegalese Presidency, Oumar Samba Ba.

The president has also issued a decree to call an extraordinary session of the National Assembly to examine “as a matter of priority” a project on the management of public administration, among other issues, as reported by the Senegalese state news agency, APS.

The announcement came after the opposition coalition Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) tabled a motion of no confidence against the government, led by Ousmane Sonko, an ally of Faye. The extraordinary convening of the parliamentary session blocked the motion of no confidence, in a sign of the tensions between the executive and the legislature.

Faye himself said that Parliament’s rejection of the proposed amendment to the Constitution is an example of “the deep rift” between opposition MPs and the “aspirations” of the population following their victory in the March 2024 elections.

The proposal, which would see the elimination of the EESC and the HCCT, was rejected by Parliament on Monday. It was put forward by the Senegalese president as part of his stated efforts to rationalise spending and reform public management in the African country.

The decision by parliament and BBY’s announcement of a no-confidence motion against Sonko’s government – an opponent of former President Macky Sall, who was blocked from running for president – could lead to another political crisis in the African country, which held presidential elections in March after months of instability.