Senegal Finance Ministry Rejects Call to Withdraw 2027 Budget Bill

Senegal's finance ministry has rejected a parliamentary committee chair's request to withdraw the government's proposed 2027 budget, extending a dispute over how the country should adjust its public finances after lawmakers rejected a revision to the 2026 budget.

In a statement dated November 4, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning said the chair of the National Assembly's Finance and Budgetary Control Committee had asked in a November 3 letter, numbered 41/ANS/CFCB, for the 2027 initial finance bill to be withdrawn. According to the ministry, the chair argued that rejection of the 2026 supplementary budget had invalidated the assumptions underpinning the 2027 proposal and sought a revised bill based on the original 2026 budget.

The ministry disputed that reasoning. It said rejection of a supplementary budget does not automatically require withdrawal of the following year's initial budget. It cited the legislature's December 13, 2025 adoption of the original 2026 budget before its December 30 adoption of a second 2025 supplementary budget. The ministry also questioned the committee's November 4 notice calling members to meet at 9 a.m. on November 5, invoking a general 48-hour notice rule and acknowledging that exceptions exist.

Senegalese public broadcaster RTS reported on November 5 that the ministry opposed the withdrawal request. The ministry characterised the committee's actions as obstruction, but that is the government's allegation, not an established finding of unlawful conduct. The committee chair's stated rationale, as described in the ministry's release, was to ensure that the 2027 figures rested on an appropriate budget baseline. A committee request is not a parliamentary vote withdrawing the bill, and no final decision on the 2027 budget is established by these statements.

The dispute follows the National Assembly's November 3 rejection of the 2026 supplementary finance bill after lawmakers approved a procedural motion rather than debating its provisions. TFNOS previously reported that rejection: https://tfnos.org/article/senegal-parliament-rejects-2026-budget-revision-in-109-20-procedural-vote-48c8ae7cab9b . The new development is the committee's request to withdraw the separate 2027 proposal and the finance ministry's public opposition.

The immediate questions are whether the government will submit a revised 2027 proposal, whether committee hearings proceed, and whether legislators and the executive can agree on a financing baseline. No criminal wrongdoing or court finding is alleged in the available records.