Sonko, sa candidature, la réforme...: Le député Ismaila Wone, un des porteurs de la proposition de loi, explique tout
This is today's political news. In the National Assembly, a bill aimed at reforming Articles L29 and L30 of the electoral code has been formally introduced by members of the Pastef parliamentary group. It aims to remove any future obstacles to Ousmane Sonko's candidacy in the 2029 presidential election. Among the MPs sponsoring the bill is Ismaila Wone. He answered questions from Seneweb to explain the bill's outline and objectives.
Honourable, what exactly is this proposed law?
I don't want to delve too deeply into the legal details. I just want to reiterate that Articles L29 and L30 focus on electoral disqualification. In other words, anyone affected by Articles L29 and L30 is neither a voter nor eligible to run for office. These articles clearly define those who have committed crimes, certain offenses, or at least been convicted of a certain crime, so that they are removed from the electoral rolls and consequently ineligible to run for office. It was indeed in this context that these two articles were manipulated under Macky Sall's regime to prevent President Ousmane Sonko from running for office.
What is the objective you are aiming for with this proposed law?
We, members of the Pastef Les Patriotes parliamentary group, through five of its initiators, myself included, have proposed a bill to amend Articles L29 and L30. We believe these articles somewhat restrict an individual's freedom to run for office or be eligible for public office. We've observed that politicians often use certain articles to prevent candidacies. So let's be clear: our objective is not to protect Ousmane Sonko's candidacy. His candidacy doesn't need protection; it's uncontested. He was the one who headed the legislative list. If he had remained in the National Assembly, he would certainly have been its Speaker. So, this isn't about his candidacy. The goal here is to regulate articles that have been misinterpreted because they are perhaps unclear or unfairly worded. The idea here is to rewrite them in such a clear way that no one can, now or in the future, change anything to prevent someone from being a candidate.
Technically, what do you want to achieve by reforming articles L29 and L30 of the electoral code?
What we want is for this amendment to these two articles to ensure that even if you're not a lawyer, you can clearly understand what's being discussed simply by reading them. Because often, some lawyers play on legal jargon and terminology to make legal texts say what they didn't say. And that's what often opens the door to misinterpretations. Unfortunately, sometimes people interpret things as they see fit, based on their political reality or their political context. And our job, as members of parliament, is to ensure that we put in place extremely robust and rigid laws to truly prevent any misinterpretation.
So, the only thing we can do is rewrite these two articles that caused harm in the past, so that anyone can easily understand them. Because if the understanding is clear, there's no need for interpretation.
What is Ousmane Sonko's opinion on this initiative?
I remind you that we are in a Republic. The two branches of government are completely separate. We, in the legislative branch, believe—at least within our parliamentary group—that these articles must be amended. Because, as I said, in the past, these articles have been the source of injustices. And one injustice has fallen upon the current Prime Minister. Certainly, if those with ill intentions hadn't interpreted these articles to suit their own purposes, he would be President of the Republic today. So, does he have a say in this? If you have the opportunity to interview him, you can ask him that question. But what is clear is that we, in Parliament, have decided to ensure that everything in the electoral code that deserves to be amended, for the good of democracy, so that we can have much clearer, but also much more acceptable, texts.
Are you afraid of plots to disqualify him from the presidential election again?
We have no concerns regarding Ousmane Sonko's eligibility. He himself stated during the Martyrs' Day ceremony that if he is not a candidate, it is because he chose not to be. Therefore, his candidacy is not subject to any dispute. Once again, we have decided to do our job as parliamentarians. If the texts remain as they are, it will not prevent Ousmane Sonko from running in 2029. We are amending these two articles, not for Ousmane Sonko's benefit, because he doesn't need it, but for the future of Senegal, of the Republic in general. Because yesterday it was Ousmane Sonko, it could happen that tomorrow, someone else is in the same situation. And we cannot allow malicious politicians to manipulate the articles as they please. Therefore, it is necessary to amend the articles to make them clear.
Interview by Youssouf SANE
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