President Bassirou Diomaye Faye officially refers constitutional review to Constitutional Council
via SeneNews4 min read
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has officially submitted a request to the Constitutional Council to examine the conformity of the procedure that led to the adoption of Law No. 17/2026, which revises the Constitution. The request, dated July 6, 2026, was filed by attorney Me Cheikh Ahmadou Ndiaye on behalf of the head of state. President Faye alleges "unconstitutionality due to violation of the constitutional review procedure" during the law's adoption by the National Assembly on June 29, 2026. Given the urgency, the Constitutional Council is expected to rule within eight days, as per Article 5 of the organic law governing the jurisdiction. The extensive dossier includes the contested law, correspondence between the Presidency and the National Assembly, government amendments, parliamentary minutes, and video and audio recordings of the plenary session debates. The submission also references previous Constitutional Council decisions from 1960, 2006, and 2024 as jurisprudential precedents. This referral marks a new institutional phase for constitutional reform, with the Council's decision determining the validity of the adoption procedure.
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