Sénégal: constitutional council rejects opposition petition on Sonko’s reinstatement

On Wednesday, June 17, Sénégal’s Constitutional Council ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a petition from the opposition challenging Ousmane Sonko’s reinstatement to the National Assembly and his subsequent election as its president. The decision closes the legal challenge brought by opponents, who argued that both the return and the election violated parliamentary rules.

The Constitutional Council declared itself “incompetent” to handle the opposition’s petition contesting the reinstatement of former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to the National Assembly, just days after he was dismissed from his post, and his election as Assembly president on May 26.

Days after being removed as Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko — the charismatic leader of the Pastef party, which holds a large majority in Parliament — was reinstated as a deputy and subsequently elected to the speaker’s chair.

Opposition left with no further legal options

The opposition had contested his election, alleging that his return to the parliamentary benches breached internal regulations, and denounced it as an “institutional coup.”

With this ruling, the opposition has exhausted all legal avenues. Banned from running in the March 2024 presidential election, Ousmane Sonko became Prime Minister in April 2024 following the victory of his right-hand man, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in the presidential race.

As the lead candidate for the Pastef party, the former Prime Minister secured 130 out of 165 parliamentary seats in the November 2024 legislative elections. However, he had relinquished his parliamentary mandate to remain head of government.

“We will not take part in this charade”

The opposition contends that for Mr. Sonko to become a deputy again, he should have first resigned as Prime Minister, taken a seat — even temporarily — in the National Assembly, and then returned to government. “The parliamentary majority has installed someone, Ousmane Sonko, who has already lost his mandate as a deputy and cannot recover it. We will not take part in this charade,” opposition deputy Abdou Mbow declared in late April.

Nonetheless, following the Constitutional Council’s decision, the Pastef leader remains at the helm of the National Assembly, a position from which he could counterbalance President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, his former ally with whom the rift is complete.