Madar (Dakar) - The standoff in Senegal between the National Assembly's finance committee and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning over the draft 2027 budget has deepened after lawmakers on Tuesday rejected the amended 2026 finance bill, according to two communiques reported by Senegalese media on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
The chairman of the Finance and Budget Control Committee, Alphonse Mane Sambou, had asked the minister in a letter dated November 3 for "the withdrawal of the draft 2027 initial finance bill sent to the National Assembly by presidential decree", arguing that "the rejection of the 2026 amended finance bill calls into question the reference assumptions of the 2027 budget" and requesting a revised version based on the 2026 initial finance law, the news site Pressafrik reported.
The ministry replied in a statement that "the rejection of an amended finance bill does not, in itself, entail the withdrawal of the following year's initial finance bill", recalling that the National Assembly adopted the 2026 budget on December 13, 2025, before the second 2025 amended budget was passed on December 30, 2025. It also cited the Assembly's rules of procedure, which require committees to be convened at least 48 hours before they meet.
The ministry said a "succession of initiatives" by the parliamentary majority (Pastef) "resembles obstruction manoeuvres" whose aim would be in particular to undermine the consolidation of public finances, economic recovery, the clearing of payment arrears, state support for the most vulnerable and commitments made to trade unions, according to the same source.
In a counter-statement on Thursday, Sambou rejected the accusations and described the withdrawal request as "optional". He said the government had been represented by Communication Minister and spokesman Bacary Sarr at the Conference of Presidents on November 3 and that the executive was "well informed 48 hours before committee work began", blaming the dispute on "a slight delay in delivering the physical summons". The committee meeting has been rescheduled for Saturday, November 7, according to Senego.
The committee chairman noted that Article 68 of the Constitution requires parliament to examine the budget within 60 days of its submission on October 12, and said the committee would work on the only text officially before it. He criticised the "opacity" and "lack of sincerity" of the budget document, saying "no attempt to manipulate public opinion will prevent the National Assembly from doing its work in all conscience".
The budget dispute casts doubt on a $2.2 billion financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund, in a country whose public debt is estimated at around 132% of GDP.
