Dakar, 5 Sept (APS) – The daily newspapers that reached APS on Thursday are following with great attention and a certain perplexity the “political twists and turns” in the National Assembly, where the deputies are summoned to a plenary session to examine several draft laws, at the initiative of the President of the Republic, at a time when some of their opposition counterparts were preparing a motion of censure aimed at dissolving the government.
“A day of twists and turns,” is the headline in Le Soleil, referring to the chain of events that led the head of state to call the deputies to an extraordinary session to examine several draft laws.
Previously, the President of the National Assembly had summoned the members of the institution’s bureau to a meeting whose agenda was not made public.
This meeting was certainly about the motion of censure tabled by an opposition parliamentary group.
The announced extraordinary session is the “fatal response” of the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, to the motion of censure aimed at dissolving the government. “It’s pulling in all directions,” the newspaper observes.
The Mandate speaks of a “tense situation” within the parliamentary institution.
“KO blow against Jarnac blow!” exclaims Sud Quotidien.
An “escalation”
Bassirou Diomaye Faye “has slowed down the process of dissolving the government,” he notes. It is an “escalation,” according to Sud Quotidien.
“Worse,” adds Sud Quotidien, “to deliver a scathing response to the deputies who rejected his bill aimed at amending the Constitution with the aim of abolishing the High Council of Local Authorities (HCCT) and the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) […]the head of state terminated the functions of their [dirigeants].”
Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, who headed the HCCT and the CESE.
The Prime Minister “requested the freezing of the accounts of these two institutions, while announcing the imminent start of the hunt for supposed ill-gotten gains and the dissolution of the National Assembly,” announced the same newspaper.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko – “Failure” at United Hope, Voice of the People.
The newspaper Le Quotidien, for its part, exhumes the campaign slogan of the duo in power: “Sonko Móoy Diomaye”, to say that the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister are two sides of the same coin.
Le Quotidien wonders “if the government is not seeking to ‘manoeuvre to annihilate’ this desire of the opposition to vote for the motion of censure…”
“A trick game,” writes WalfQuotidien.
Accountability ‘will start now’
“The Bassirou Diomaye Faye trap”, headlines L’As, according to which, “barring any dramatic turn of events”, the strategy put in place by the President of the Republic should allow him to “gain time until September 12, the date on which he will be able to dissolve the National Assembly and allow the Prime Minister to escape a motion of censure”.
“Bassirou Diomaye Faye is not giving up. In this battle against Benno, he will have used all his weapons to obstruct the motion of censure of Abdou Mbow and Co. and impose his agenda,” notes Bés Bi Le Jour.
The daily newspaper EnQuête observes that the President of the Republic “cut the grass from under Benno’s feet” and “temporarily puts aside the motion of censure filed by the opposition”.
Several daily newspapers, including L’info, also announced that the accountability process “will begin now”. “Now, everything is ready to shed light on the financial scandals”, announced this newspaper, quoting the Prime Minister.
“We have taken precautionary measures to prevent them from leaving the country,” Source A quotes the head of government as referring to those who have led the country over the past twelve years.
“We have proof of all their wrongdoings and they will be held accountable,” Ousmane Sonko said, adding, according to Les Echos: “In the coming days, dozens of them will be held accountable.”
The Prime Minister said that “three or four of them were able to escape.” “But they were located in Dubai and Canada,” he added.
BK/ESF
