Mary Teuw Niane defends President's decision to refer parliamentary initiatives to Constitutional Council
Professor Mary Teuw Niane, chief of staff to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has publicly defended the President's decision to refer certain "untimely, even adventurous" parliamentary initiatives to the Constitutional Council. In a column titled "Republican Elegance," Niane, a former minister, emphasized that the President is not merely another institutional actor but is constitutionally tasked with safeguarding the regular functioning of institutions and embodying national unity. He described this as a "burden" rather than a privilege, sometimes requiring resistance. Niane argued that the President initially opted for a pedagogical approach before resorting to legal means in response to the persistence of those who seem to use a parliamentary majority to dismantle the republican architecture. He stressed that the President's method involves no coercion, institutional brutality, or circumvention of national representation, summarizing it as "The law. The judge. The Constitution." Niane asserted that a parliamentary majority, however strong, does not equate to the Constitution, nor does an electoral victory grant ownership of the state. He clarified that the Constitutional Council acts as the judicial guardian of the Constitution, not as an ally of the President or an adversary of Parliament, reminding that "politics cannot do everything" and "political urgency cannot abolish the rule of law." Anticipating criticism, Niane stated that the Council's decisions might be unpopula
