Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye gives a joint press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin on June 23, 2026. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
Senegal’s National Assembly passed a bill revising the balance of power between the country’s executive and parliament on Monday, prompting the president to announce a national referendum on the matter.
The bill was passed by an overwhelming majority in a tense atmosphere marked by heated exchanges, an opposition boycott and scuffles outside the building during which police used tear gas, AFP journalists saw.
The measure strengthens the powers of the National Assembly and the prime minister, while effectively curtailing the powers of the president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The Pastef party, led by Faye’s rival and former prime minister Ousmane Sonko, proposed the measure.
