National Assembly: Ousmane Sonko dismisses the idea of an institutional crisis

The second extraordinary session of the National Assembly in 2026 opened on Tuesday 1 September, with 106 MPs present, Senego reports. According to the outlet, this attendance level made it possible to reach the quorum required for deliberations.

At the opening of the session, Ousmane Sonko rejected claims of an institutional crisis in Senegal. He described the situation as part of the normal functioning of institutions and called for no fuel to be added, in his words, to tensions that did not exist.

Defending the Assembly’s prerogatives

The president of the institution also said that the National Assembly would exercise all its prerogatives while respecting those of other institutions. He said the institutional framework and its rules were sufficiently defined to govern the situations mentioned.

To support his argument, he referred to three periods of cohabitation in France — 1986-1988, 1993-1995 and 1997-2002 — which he cited as examples of institutional functioning without a crisis.

The next steps of the session

The opening sitting was adjourned after its agenda had been completed. According to Senego, the Conference of Presidents is then due to meet to determine the organisation of upcoming parliamentary work. Among the announced issues is the definition of arrangements for the future General Policy Statement.