The finance bill for the year 2025 was adopted this Saturday in the National Assembly of Senegal. The absence of debate, permitted by the evocation of article 86, paragraph 6 of the Constitution, provoked strong opposition.
The President of the Assembly, El Malick Ndiaye, invoked this provision to hold the government accountable and proceed with the adoption without discussion. A decision which was not to the taste of the opposition, in particular of the deputy Abdoul Mbow, member of the Takku Wally Senegal coalition, who denounced anti-democratic “forcing”.
“It’s unacceptable,” protests Abdoul Mbow
In a fiery intervention, Abdoul Mbow described this approach as a violation of the fundamental principles of the democratic functioning of the institution. “It is unacceptable that a law of such importance, given what it represents in our functioning, is passed without debate,” he insisted.
El Malick Ndiaye replied: “Honorable, sit down. You know very well that there cannot be debates, article 86 of the Constitution has been mentioned.”
A response which did not convince the opposition MP, who reiterated that this procedure constituted a violation of the Constitution. According to him, the Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko should have been present to hold the government responsible for this process and not sent his Minister of Finance.
Faced with Abdoul Mbow’s insistence, the President of the National Assembly raised his voice, going so far as to threaten to expel him from the room. Tired of this tense exchange, the deputy finally sat down again, but not without invoking the appeal to the internal regulations of the Assembly to assert his right to speak.
Senegal
