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Senegal’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that shifts the balance of power between the president, parliament and the prime minister, prompting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to announce a national referendum on the proposal.
According to AFP, lawmakers passed the bill on Monday by a large majority during a tense parliamentary session marked by heated arguments, an opposition boycott and clashes outside the National Assembly, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters.
The proposed amendment has drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups.
Speaking before lawmakers voted on the bill, Justice Minister Moussa Sarr said President Faye had decided to submit the approved legislation to a referendum.
“The president has decided to inform the speaker of the National Assembly that he has decided… to put the adopted text to a referendum,” Sarr said.
If approved by voters, the amendment would strengthen the powers of parliament and the prime minister while reducing some of the president’s authority.
The ruling Pastef party, which controls 130 of the National Assembly’s 165 seats, said the reform is intended to create a better balance between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. However, presidential coalition leader Aminata Touré argued that the proposal would weaken the presidency.
“Parliament is being used to weaken the president. The proposals appear aimed at limiting the influence of the president of the republic by increasing the powers of the head of the National Assembly,” she said on Sunday.
Tensions rose during the debate after an opposition lawmaker refused to leave the podium when his request to delay the vote was rejected.
Security officers later removed him from the chamber, prompting nearly all opposition lawmakers to stage a walkout.
Outside parliament, at least 50 protesters, mostly supporters of the Alliance for the Republic (APR), the party of former President Macky Sall, gathered to protest the bill.
Some attempted to enter the National Assembly by force, throwing stones before security personnel dispersed the crowd with tear gas and made several arrests.
The proposed reform comes months after President Faye removed Ousmane Sonko as prime minister in May. Sonko was immediately elected Speaker of the National Assembly, which is dominated by the Pastef party.
