The Front for the Defence of the Republic (FDR) has issued a strong statement this Wednesday, calling for the immediate removal of Ousmane Sonko from the National Assembly. The coalition, led by Khalifa Sall, has branded Sonko’s continued presence in the legislative body as both illegal and illegitimate.
In their declaration, the FDR highlights the collective mobilisation of 147 political parties and movements that signed a joint statement on May 24th. This statement denounced what the coalition describes as a parliamentary coup attempt orchestrated by the PASTEF party. The FDR also welcomes the opposition’s decision to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council for review.
The coalition’s argument centres on Article LO172 of the Electoral Code, which states that a minister elected as a deputy automatically forfeits their parliamentary seat if they fail to resign from their ministerial position within eight days. The FDR contends that PASTEF has attempted to bypass this legal requirement by amending the National Assembly’s internal regulations. However, the coalition argues that this move is unconstitutional on two critical grounds:
- Constitutional violation: Article 54 of the Constitution mandates that such a reinstatement must be governed by an organic law incorporated into the Electoral Code, not hidden within internal parliamentary rules.
- Legal inconsistency: The amendment introduces the concept of ‘deputy substitutes’, a category not recognised under Senegalese law outside of departmental majority and proportional elections. The FDR asserts that PASTEF has breached both the Constitution and the Electoral Code, while also overstepping the Assembly’s internal regulations—whose sole purpose, per Article 1, is to regulate the institution’s operational procedures.
Urging nationwide unity, the FDR has called on civil society, political figures, and citizens to rally behind a coordinated action plan to uphold the rule of law and restore constitutional order.
