A close-up of Senegal’s Prime Minister delivering a speech during a political event, highlighting government tensions.
Senegal’s National Assembly has overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the electoral code, effectively clearing the path for Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to run in the next presidential election. The bill retroactively removes provisions that disqualified him from the 2024 race due to a defamation conviction. While Pastef lawmakers argued the previous code was weaponized to eliminate political rivals, opposition members fiercely condemned the new amendment as a highly personalized law tailored to benefit one man. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye must now decide whether to sign it into law. If signed, Sonko will regain eligibility to run for president. For the opposition, the move represents a massive electoral threat, as they must now prepare to compete directly against the country’s most mobilizing and popular political figure. However, the bill could weaken Senegal’s democratic norms, as retroactive legal changes tailored to one individual set a troubling precedent.
Africanews