DAKAR, June 29 (Reuters) – Senegalese police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse scores of protesters outside parliament, as lawmakers debated a constitutional amendment that critics say could upset the balance of power in government.
Proposed changes include a provision prohibiting a sitting president from serving as leader of a political party.
A political coalition supporting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has called for an immediate withdrawal of the bill.
Lawmakers voted in favour of the change on Monday but any amendment must first be put to a referendum, the minister of justice, Moussa Sarr, told the hearing.
The push for constitutional reform has been driven by the ruling Pastef party, led by parliament speaker and former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
Faye is also a member of Pastef, but no longer holds any official role in the party. The amendment would make it more difficult for him to launch his own party ahead of the next election.
Critics of the proposed reforms, including some Senegalese civil society groups and political parties, say the reform is an attempted power grab by Sonko, who was dismissed as prime minister by Faye in May.
The dispute over constitutional reform is deepening political divisions in Senegal, where Faye and Sonko split over the approach to reforms and the response to a mounting debt crisis.
Faye was elected two years ago, backed by Sonko, a populist figure with a strong youth following, who was barred from running himself due to a defamation conviction.
(Reporting by Diadie Ba and Anait Miridzhanian;Editing by Bate Felix, Aidan Lewis, Jessica Donati and Susan Fenton)
