Civil society organizations in Dakar presented a pre-arranged constitutional reform text on August 12, aiming to prevent political gridlock and partisan text adoption. Based on the Pacte de bonne gouvernance signed in 2024, the proposal introduces a citizen active mandate, judicial reforms, and stricter public asset controls amid ongoing institutional tensions.
Civil Society Unveils Consensus Text Amid Institutional Tensions
Gathered in Dakar on August 12, several organizations presented constitutional proposals that they consider already consensual, drawn from the Pacte de bonne gouvernance signed in 2024. Civil society organizations held a press conference on Wednesday, August 12 in Dakar, dedicated to the ongoing constitutional reform, amidst a climate of institutional tensions between the Presidency of the Republic and the National Assembly. The speakers immediately framed their approach as an effort to avoid two pitfalls: a total deadlock of the revision process, or the adoption of a text with a partisan rather than consensual connotation.
The speakers recalled that their proposals are based on the Pacte de bonne gouvernance, signed in 2024 by 13 of the 17 presidential candidates, including President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and the President of the National Assembly Ousmane Sonko, the latter having, according to them, initialed it in two distinct capacities. Mamadou Ndoye, speaking on behalf of the civil society gathered within the Sursaut citoyen, pleaded on Wednesday, August 12 in Dakar for the future constitutional revision to be based on commitments already made by political actors, notably the Pacte de bonne gouvernance and the conclusions of the National Assises. During a press briefing dedicated to institutional reform, the former Minister of Literacy and National Languages said he wanted to prevent Senegal from finding itself without a constitutional revision or with a partisan text. According to him, the current period offers an opportunity to seek a national compromise, rather than letting the constitutional revision become a new motive for confrontation between institutions.
Core Institutional Reforms and the Active Mandate
Mame Adama Gueye detailed a set of proposals articulated around the notion of the citizen’s “active mandate,” intended to go beyond the mere act of voting. Among the measures put forward: the establishment of a liberties judge, the sacralization of public assets against political clientelism, the reform of the Superior Council of the Judiciary to guarantee the real irremovability of magistrates, as well as opening the referral to the Constitutional Council to a determined number of citizens. The text also proposes lifting certain budgetary locks limiting the legislative initiative of deputies, and establishing a clear legal definition of the crime of high treason.
The issue of controlling public assets occupies a central place in the proposals, with one figure highlighted: more than a third of the people subject to asset declaration would be in default. The speakers also pointed out the current absence of an obligation for the Head of State to declare assets upon leaving office. Earlier, political scientist Papa Fara Diallo analyzed the reform as a rebalancing of powers, evoking a hyper-presidentialism since 1962.
New Safeguards and a Four-Step Revision Procedure
The organizations finally returned to the previous attempt at constitutional revision, which was rejected by the Constitutional Council after having been, according to them, presented to the National Assembly on a Sunday evening for a vote scheduled less than 24 hours later. At the end of June, the Noo Lank collective had called for a national consensus before any modification of the fundamental text, denouncing a logic of power struggle. In April, the Presidency of the Republic had finalized several draft laws, including a revision of the Constitution, made public on a digital platform.
They propose a reform of Article 103 of the Constitution establishing a four-step process, including the publication of a consolidated text, expanded hearings, a reasoned report, and then transmission to the Assembly, before any new adoption procedure.
Outreach Efforts and Dialogue with State Authorities
Letters requesting audiences have been sent since July 24 to the Head of State, the President of the Assembly, and about ten deputies; only Aïssata Tall Sall, president of the Takku Wallu Sénégal parliamentary group, is said to have responded to date. The organizations of Sursaut citoyen intend to begin steps with the main authorities concerned to present their proposals and attempt to obtain their endorsement. Mamadou Ndoye said he reasonably hopes for a positive reaction from them.
The goal is to avoid two scenarios judged equally worrying: an institutional impasse that would block any constitutional revision, and the adoption of a text bearing the mark of one political camp. He insisted on the national dimension of the stake, as the constitutional reform must define the fundamental principles of the functioning of institutions and the coexistence of Senegalese people.
