Abdou Mbow, the first vice-president of the National Assembly responded to Cheikh Bamba Dièye and Moustapha Guirassy following their letter sent to the hemicycle, a letter which manifests their decision not to sit on the ad hoc committee. They consider it to be tainted with irregularities. 80% of the deputies who make up this commission belong to the presidential movement. A mechanical majority which according to them, will not be fair in their decision on the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the deputy of Pastef Ousmane Sonko, accused of repeated rape and threats by the masseur Adji Sar.
“I would like to bring to the attention of national and international opinion so that no one is unaware of it, that the resignation of our colleagues at the level of the ad hoc committee (note, see elsewhere), does not in any way hinder the pursuit work already started.
For the past few days, our colleagues in the parliamentary opposition have been busy making the public believe that there has been a violation of the rules of procedure in relation to the procedure under way at the level of the ad hoc committee.
In the first place, they wanted to make the public understand that the documents sent to the National Assembly did not target Ousmane Sonko by name but rather X. To their surprise, when they consulted the documents in the office of the President of the commission, they realized that the named Ousmane Sonko is indeed the person concerned and better they even had access to the file which accompanied the request of the examining magistrate transmitted by the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals.
After their disappointment in this failed attempt to manipulate opinion, they asked members of the ad hoc committee to hear from Adji Sarr and others to further clarify the work.
To use their words in their letter to the Chairman of the ad hoc committee, our colleagues said: “the committee must play the role of investigating judge of the parliament”.
Since when have our colleagues in the opposition, who have always shouted from the rooftops when talking about the separation of powers, suddenly agreed to combine the legislative and judicial power?
The organic law which governs the functioning of the National Assembly in its article 52 stipulates that: “It is constituted, for each request for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of a deputy or for each request for suspension of proceedings already initiated, a Ad hoc committee of eleven (11) members appointed according to the procedure provided for in article 34. The committee must hear the deputy concerned, who can choose, as defender, one of his colleagues. During debates opened by the National Assembly, in plenary session, on questions of immunity, only the President, the Rapporteur of the Commission, the Government, the deputy or his defender and a speaker can speak against “.
Clearly, there is no provision in the work of this committee to hear another person besides the deputy.
My opposition colleagues are into manipulation and slander, their posturing is not based on any legal argument.
This is why, finally, having not succeeded for more than a week in getting public opinion to adhere to their game of manipulation, they decided to play the empty chair policy after participating in the meeting of the Commission which is doing its job in accordance with Parliament’s legal procedures.
My dear colleagues, as you know, if the aim of immunity is to protect the mandate of parliamentarians and to guarantee their independence in the exercise of their functions, this protective regime which derogates from common law is not intended to ensure impunity for the deputy or obstruct the exercise of judicial power.
Furthermore, waiving the immunity of a colleague in no way calls into question the presumption of innocence which prevails in favor of the offending colleague.
So, dear colleagues, let the ad hoc committee, set up by us, work in complete serenity while respecting the principle of confidentiality which necessarily surrounds the exercise of its mission.
In conclusion, I recall that when the request for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the Honorable Khalifa Ababacar Sall, President Madické Niang, then president of the parliamentary opposition parliamentary group, resigned and this did not prevent the Commission to complete its work.
To just say that there is nothing new under the sun.
Abdou Mbow
First vice president of the National Assembly “
