Senegal Group Urges Referendum on Budget Row

Africa: Senegal

A Senegalese group leader wants voters, not lawmakers, to settle the budget fight that has deadlocked the Assembly and the government. The constitution’s referendum article does not mention finance bills.

Babacar Ba, who heads the Forum du Justiciable, a Senegalese organisation, asked President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Thursday 12 November 2026 to let voters decide the budget choices that lawmakers have rejected. “Mr President, in the name of Article 51 of the Constitution, give the people a voice,” Ba wrote in a published letter (our translation from French).

Ba called the rejection a major institutional act whose effects could reach households directly. He named purchasing power, protection of vulnerable groups, job creation and public security as areas at risk.

What the Assembly Has Rejected

The National Assembly, Senegal’s parliament, voted on Tuesday 3 November 2026 to throw out the government’s amended 2026 finance law without debating its content. It used a “preliminary question”, a motion that ends a bill at once, moved by Amadou Ba, a deputy of the Pastef party and no relation to Babacar Ba; 109 deputies backed it in the first count, later corrected to 126.

On Saturday 7 November the Assembly’s finance committee then rejected the first part of the 2027 finance bill, which covers revenue and public debt. Under Article 68 of the Constitution, the Assembly has at most 60 days to vote a finance bill, and a bill not definitively voted by then is put into force by decree, taking account of amendments the Assembly voted and the President accepted.

The 2027 bill was filed on 12 October, so that period ends about 11 December. We found no public statement from the presidency on which route it will take, as of 09:30 GMT on 13 November.

Ba’s Five Budget Choices

Ba listed five choices he wants voters to confirm or reject. They cover living costs, family support, business, safety and growth.

• Keeping the subsidies that hold down the cost of living.
• Continuing the bourses familiales, cash grants for poorer families.
• Supporting the private sector.
• Building new fire-brigade barracks.
• Building the infrastructure needed for economic and social development.

Ba wrote that “no mandate is above the will of the sovereign”, his term for the people as the ultimate authority. He argued that a vote would let citizens confirm or reject choices made in their name.

What Article 51 Says

Article 51 lets the President submit a bill to a national vote. For a constitutional change he must first hear the President of the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council, the body that rules on constitutional questions.

For an ordinary bill the Prime Minister must propose the vote, and the same two opinions are needed. The article says nothing about budgets, and it leaves the courts to supervise the ballot and the Constitutional Council to proclaim the result.

Why It Matters Beyond Senegal

The budget standoff sits beside Senegal’s talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global lender. On 1 September 2026 the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Senegal on a new programme, subject to approval by its Executive Board, and said corrective measures on the earlier misreporting of public debt must come first.

On 12 November IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the Fund is not a party to the talks between the government and the Assembly. For US readers who follow Senegal’s debt or African markets, the budget deadlock is one more item to watch next to the Board approval.

What It Means for You

Anyone with exposure to Senegal should watch two things: the end of the 60-day period in mid-December and any presidential statement on Article 68 or Article 51. Ba’s plea has no legal force on its own, because under Article 51 the President calls a referendum, and for an ordinary bill only on the Prime Minister’s proposal.

What Is Not Known

The presidency has not said whether it will respond to Ba or consider a referendum. Article 51 covers “any bill” but does not mention finance bills, so the text does not settle whether it reaches a budget.

The letter, as published, does not say how a vote would be organised or what it would cost. It also does not say which budget lines would go on the ballot beyond the five he listed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Babacar Ba?

He is the president of the Forum du Justiciable, a Senegalese organisation. On 12 November 2026 he asked President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to hold a referendum on rejected budget choices.

Can Senegal hold a referendum on a budget?

Article 51 lets the President put “any bill” to a national vote, but its text does not mention budgets by name. For an ordinary bill the Prime Minister must propose the vote, and two bodies must be consulted first.

What happens if the Assembly does not pass the 2027 budget?

Under Article 68, a finance bill not definitively voted within 60 days is put into force by decree. The finance committee rejected the first part of the 2027 bill on 7 November 2026.

Has the president answered Ba?

No public reply had appeared by Friday 13 November 2026. This article will be rewritten if one comes.

Sources: Forum du Justiciable letter of 12 November 2026; National Assembly of Senegal, plenary vote of 3 November and finance committee vote of 7 November 2026; Constitution of Senegal, Articles 51 and 68 (Constitutional Council text); IMF press release of 1 September 2026. More: Senegal news.

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