During his recent tour across the Baol region, Ousmane Sonko significantly intensified his critique of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Convening in Touba this Sunday, where he inaugurated the new Pastef-Touba headquarters before delivering a key address on current political challenges, the prominent Pastef leader openly questioned the Constitutional Council’s decision to invalidate the constitutional revision bill, challenging its underlying rationale.

Initially, the National Assembly President had advocated for respecting the high court’s ruling, asserting that it “binds all.” However, his tone shifted dramatically in Touba. He directly attacked the presidential practice of repeatedly referring matters to the Constitutional Council, remarking: “Every week, he goes to the Constitutional Council.” This statement underscored his perception of the Head of State’s systematic reliance on the Council’s arbitration to circumvent parliamentary action.

Ousmane Sonko further challenged the very logic behind the Council’s decision, asserting: “The Constitutional Council cannot dictate that deputies must pass laws that please the President of the Republic.” This was a direct assault on the reasoning of the seven judges, who had based their invalidation on procedural grounds, specifically the absence of compensatory resources for new public expenditures mandated by the text and non-compliance with the blocked vote procedure. The Pastef leader concluded his address with a solemn warning: “What is happening in this country is serious.”

These remarks from the National Assembly President signal a significant shift in his public communication, which had previously adopted a stance of institutional appeasement following the July 9 decision. His statements come as Pastef’s Baol tour, initially framed as a grassroots outreach and territorial strengthening effort, increasingly appears to be a political counter-offensive against the Presidency’s dynamic restructuring, which has recently hosted hundreds of mayors and announced the imminent formation of its own political party.