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MP Thierno Alassane Sall warns that PASTEF’s push to install Ousmane Sonko as National Assembly Speaker risks triggering a major institutional crisis in Senegal, threatening democratic stability.

In Senegal, the speculation over the future of the National Assembly is heating up. MP Thierno Alassane Sall has broken his silence, denouncing what he sees as a deliberate move by PASTEF to install Ousmane Sonko as Speaker. In a social media post, he warns of a looming 'major institutional crisis.'

For Sall, this potential appointment is no mere parliamentary reshuffle—it is a calculated provocation. The seasoned opposition figure, who has sat at the frontlines of power, views the maneuver as an attempt to destabilize the already fragile balance of our democracy. His words carry the authority of experience.

This intervention comes at a time when every political move is under scrutiny. The National Assembly, the very symbol of popular sovereignty, finds itself at the center of a power struggle. Senegalese, no strangers to political drama, watch with bated breath.

Beyond the political posturing, it is the stability of our institutions that hangs in the balance. Thierno Alassane Sall reminds us that Senegalese democracy, though resilient, is never immune to shocks. Time will tell if this warning is heeded.

Thierno Alassane Sall: 'PASTEF Is Pushing for an Institutional Crisis'

Nine years after a bill was adopted, Senegal's parliament has not passed a law on traditional medicine, leaving therapeutic heritage unprotected and vulnerable to biopiracy. This legal void threatens health sovereignty and ancestral knowledge.

Senegal is among the few African countries without a legal framework for traditional medicine. Yet a bill was adopted in the Council of Ministers on the 31st [date unspecified]. Nine years later, the National Assembly has still not passed a law. This legislative silence is not trivial: it leaves our therapeutic heritage without protection or official recognition.

This legal void has concrete consequences. Traditional healers, keepers of ancestral knowledge, operate in a gray area, with no status or guarantees for patients. Meanwhile, other African countries have already structured their traditional medicine, integrating its practices into public health systems. Senegal lags behind.

The stakes go beyond mere regulation. This is about health sovereignty and the valorization of our cultural heritage. Without a law, medicinal plants and local knowledge remain vulnerable to biopiracy and uncontrolled exploitation. The communities that have passed down this knowledge for generations receive no legal protection.

Nine years of inaction is too long. The National Assembly must finally shoulder its responsibilities and give Senegal a legal framework worthy of our therapeutic tradition. The Senegalese people, who rely heavily on traditional medicine, deserve better than a legal void. It is time for our elected officials to turn this bill into a living law, serving our health and our culture.

Senegal’s Traditional Medicine: Nine Years of Parliamentary Inaction

During his handover as Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko pledged the National Assembly would support the government, but only if it serves Senegal's supreme interest, signaling a demanding partnership.

On Friday, at the Prime Minister's office in Dakar, the handover between Ahmadou Al Aminou and Ousmane Sonko was more than a bureaucratic formality. It was a political moment, heavy with symbolism and expectation. In a Senegal watching every move of its new leaders, Sonko chose to open his tenure with a clear pledge: the National Assembly will not be a hindrance but a demanding partner.

"The National Assembly will support the government in the interest of Senegal," he assured, setting an immediate condition: that this supreme interest remains the guiding star. The words echo beyond the walls of the Prime Minister's office. They signal that the dialogue between the executive and the legislature will not be a monologue, that the majority will not be a rubber-stamp chamber.

Sonko, a former opposition figure now leading the government, knows the weight of words. By insisting on Senegal's supreme interest, he reminds that politics is not a power game but a mission. This is not wishful thinking: it is a contract with the Senegalese people, who expect concrete action.

The statement comes at a time of immense expectations. After months of political tension, the Senegalese people yearn for transparent, effective governance squarely focused on development. Sonko knows this. By linking the National Assembly to this momentum, he sketches a vision: a Republic where every institution plays its part, without discord.

How this promise will translate into action remains to be seen. But for now, the message is clear: in Senegal, the time for rear-guard battles is over. It is time to build a shared future.