The Senegalese President and Prime Minister are heading towards the overwhelming parliamentary majority they demanded to implement their agenda of rupture and social justice. They are required to deliver on the program sold to voters that allowed them to come to power eight months ago
What will the heads of state and government Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko do with this capital of trust?
3/4 of the seats in Parliament for Pastef according to projections
Voters, with high expectations in the face of unemployment and the high cost of living, are saying that the time has come to implement the promise to transform Senegal. A colossal project!
The new National Assembly, where Pastef could hold three-quarters of the seats according to projections from various media, should sit very quickly after the expected validation of the results of the legislative elections.
The vote on the 2025 budget, delayed, is the mother of priorities
Amadou Ba, not to be confused with the former Prime Minister, an eminent parliamentarian from Pastef, the ruling party, tempers: the Finance law will bear “the beginnings of transformation”, it will reflect the great commitment made to fight corruption, he said. But “you don’t have much margin. It will not fundamentally be a total breakthrough budget. » He invokes the “colossal debt” left by the previous administration.
“The first break is already the drop in the budget” compared to that of the previous year after removal of undue cash resources, he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suspended its aid program after an audit by the new authorities revealed, according to them, that their predecessors had manipulated deficit and debt figures. The Finance Law will include corrected figures and will aim to “make Senegal’s signature even more credible,” said Mr. Ba.
The authorities have pledged to consolidate finances and said they would broaden the tax base. “The beginnings will be difficult” for the Senegalese, predicts teacher-researcher El Hadji Mamadou Mbaye.
Accountability
The deputies have one month to elect the judges of this body likely to play a preeminent role. The Prime Minister repeats that former leaders will be held accountable for the political violence of 2021-2024 and for alleged acts of corruption.
However, only the High Court of Justice can judge the former President, if three-fifths of the deputies vote for his indictment. She can also judge former ministers.
Deputy Ba nuance: certainly the Assembly will comply with the deadlines it is required to elect judges, but that does not mean that the High Court will sit quickly. “It’s not at the top of the agenda. »
Another flammable subject. Mr. Sonko vowed to repeal an amnesty law adopted at the initiative of former President Macky Sall in March. It was intended to ease tension in a context of high tension in the run-up to the presidential election. She released from prison hundreds of people imprisoned during three years of confrontation, including MM. Faye and Sonko themselves.
Many Senegalese have always rejected it as exonerating those responsible for violence which caused dozens of deaths between 2021 and 2024. But revoking it is an “adventure”, legally and politically, observes Maurice Soudieck Dione, professor of political science. “Wouldn’t repealing the element of resolving the political crisis (at the start of 2024) return to a crisis situation? », he asks.
The new leaders have made many promises, even if it means qualifying some of them with the exercise of responsibilities: constitutional revision with reduction of the President’s powers, reform of institutions, modification of labor and land codes, overhaul of taxation, etc.
Review of contracts
“Everything has to be redone,” said MP Ba. Everything is a priority. » But, he adds, there is no timetable. “The Prime Minister and the President will define the priorities. The Assembly, in a sovereign manner, will determine its timetable according to the priorities of the moment and this will be determined in due course. »
The teacher-researcher Mbaye expects “strong actions to show the populations that we are part of the rupture. »
The government indicated that it had begun a vast review of contracts and agreements signed with foreign partners in different sectors. The fishing agreement with the European Union has just expired without being renewed.
Professor Dione observes that renegotiation is a matter for the executive. Deputy Ba objects that “the National Assembly can ask to be informed on the conditions of signing this or that agreement. » The new Assembly intends to use all of the powers devolved to it but which it did not exercise under the former president, he said.
Par The editorial staffEditorial Committee – Casablanca
