Hamadou Tidiane Sy
12 May 2008
Dakar — Following a now well established trend in Africa, Senegal, which is viewed by many as a democratic model in the region, may soon change a key clause of its Constitution if a proposal by the government is approved.
The news was made public during the weekend when the government issued a statement saying it will put forward a proposal to amend part of article 27 of the country's Constitution.
This article - according to the version of the constitution available on the government's website - reads: "The presidential mandate lasts five years. This mandate is renewable only once. It can only be changed through a referendum".
However, the government has not yet made public the exact details of what it intends to change, leaving the local media and the whole country to speculate about its real intentions.
A local radio station - RFM, quoting a source at the presidential palace, said the government wants to extend the term of the mandate from five to seven years.
However, the change may not affect the current term of Abdoulaye Wade, who was voted for five years, said the same radio station.
Anything new
In any case, if approved this amendment would not be anything new, despite the "sensitiveness" of the targeted clause, said Mr Ismaila Madior Fall, a law professor at the Dakar University saying it was premature to make any further comment.
It's true a few changes have been introduced to the Senegalese constitution in the past eight years (since Mr Wade came to power), some of which have been strongly criticised by the analysts or the opposition. These sources believe these changes were made to solve political problems within the ruling party or to settle scores with political rivals rather than to improve the country's legal framework or to strengthen its institutional and democratic structures.
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