Après la controverse sur deux versions du texte : l'Assemblée nationale a examiné en seconde lecture la loi modificative du Code électoral
On May 7, 2026, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye submitted a request to the National Assembly for a new deliberation on the law amending the Electoral Code, adopted under emergency procedure on April 28, 2026. The reason given: two different versions of the same legislative text had been transmitted to him for promulgation, an anomaly which had already been brought to the attention of the press by some deputies, according to the Head of State.
Meeting in committee on Friday, May 8, 2026, and then in plenary session on Saturday, May 9, 2026, the National Assembly carried out the second reading of the text.
Here is the full report of the Commission on Laws, Decentralization, Labour and Human Rights, signed by Mohamed Ayib Salim Daffé.
"The Commission on Laws, Decentralisation, Labour and Human Rights met on Friday 08 May 2026, under the chairmanship of Mr Ansoumana Sarr, 1st Vice-President of said Commission, in order to examine, in second reading, the law amending Law No. 2021-35 of 23 July 2021 on the Electoral Code, as amended, adopted according to the emergency procedure by the National Assembly in its session of Tuesday 28 April 2026.
The Government was represented by Ms. Marie Rose Khady Fatou Faye, Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, in charge of Relations with Institutions, Government Spokesperson.
Opening the session, the First Vice-President first greeted his fellow Members of Parliament. He then proceeded to read Article 93 of the Rules of Procedure, concerning the second reading, which states:
"The President of the Republic may, within the promulgation period from their receipt, call upon the Assembly to vote on the deliberations it has taken in a second reading.
The Assembly deliberates on this second reading following the same procedure as during the first examination of the case.
The law can only be passed on second reading if three-fifths of the members of the National Assembly have voted in favor of it.
Following this reminder, he gave the floor to President Mohamed Ayib Salim DAFFE for the reading of the law submitted for further deliberation, which is annexed to this report.
During the discussions, it was recalled that the President of the Republic, on May 7, 2026, submitted a request to the President of the National Assembly for a new deliberation based on Article 73 of the Constitution, which states:
"Within the time limit set for promulgation, the President of the Republic may, by a reasoned message, request the National Assembly to hold a new deliberation, which cannot be refused. The law can only be passed on second reading if three-fifths of the members of the National Assembly have voted in favor of it."
For the sake of proper information for members of parliament and their constituents, clarifications have been requested regarding the differences noted between the two versions sent to the President of the Republic.
Similarly, it was requested that the reasons justifying the request for a second reading be clearly stated, in order to allow the members of parliament to deliberate with full knowledge of the facts.
In response to the concerns expressed, our Colleague first recalled that, during the meeting of the Bureau and the plenary session of Friday, May 8, 2026, the President of the National Assembly had informed the deputies of the referral of the Institution by the President of the Republic, for the purpose of a new deliberation, in accordance with Article 73 of the Constitution.
He specified that the President of the Republic had justified his referral as follows:
"Two different versions of the bill adopted by the National Assembly at its session of April 28, 2026, have been sent to me. I also note that the subject of the two versions of the text has also been raised in the press, by some members of parliament."
To remove any ambiguity and guarantee that the text to be promulgated conforms to the will truly expressed by your august Institution, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 73 of the Constitution, cited above, I submit the bill to a new deliberation.
Our colleague then recalled that the bill no. 11/2026 amending law no. 2021-35 of 23 July 2021 on the Electoral Code, as amended, examined by the Committee on Laws, Decentralisation, Labour and Human Rights had been the subject of two amendments adopted during the session of 25 April 2026. The first amendment concerned article L.29, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code.
In the initial version of the bill, the ban on registering to vote, in the cases referred to in point 2 of the aforementioned article, was set at five years from "the expiry of the sentence imposed." The adopted amendment changed the starting point to "the date on which the conviction became final."
The second amendment adopted in committee concerned the last paragraph of Article 1, relating to Article L.29 of the Electoral Code. In its initial wording, the text stated that "No one may prevent the registration of a citizen on the electoral lists, except in the cases provided for in this article or in Article L.28 of this code."
The adopted amendment specified that the reference should refer to "Article L.28, paragraph 2", instead of a general reference to "Article L.28", in order to better circumscribe the normative reference.
On this point, he stressed that these two amendments had been duly adopted, annexed to the report of the Committee on Laws, Decentralisation, Labour and Human Rights, and then brought to the attention of the deputies during the plenary session of 28 April 2026.
Our colleague also indicated that a third amendment had been introduced in plenary session by the Chairman of the Committee on Laws, Decentralization, Labour and Human Rights. This amendment concerned Article 2 and specified that "The provisions of the last paragraph of Article L.29 of this code apply to deprivations of electoral rights that occurred prior to the entry into force of this law, subject to prohibitions on the right to vote and to stand for election pronounced by the courts for the period fixed in the judgment of conviction."
This amendment having also been adopted, it was important, in the final version of the law, to integrate the three amendments duly submitted and voted on, namely the two amendments adopted in Committee and the one adopted in plenary session.
Furthermore, he indicated that one of the versions submitted to the President of the Republic did not incorporate the amendments adopted in committee. Following this observation, he stated, the National Assembly submitted the version of the law conforming to the text it ultimately adopted.
Our colleague concluded that the version now distributed to the Commissioners and submitted for second reading corresponds to the law actually adopted. It incorporates all the amendments duly adopted during the legislative process. Therefore, it is this text, in accordance with the will expressed by the National Assembly, that is proposed for adoption at second reading.
Satisfied with the responses provided, your Commissioners adopted, by majority vote, the law amending Law No. 2021-35 of July 23, 2021, concerning the Electoral Code, as amended, adopted on April 28, 2026, and submitted for further deliberation. They ask you to do the same, provided this does not raise any major objections on your part.
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