Senegal's President Bassirou Faye has appointed a new cabinet less than two weeks after dismissing his former ally, Ousmane Sonko, and dissolving the government. The new 30-member cabinet was announced on Monday in a live broadcast, an hour after Mr Sonko, the ousted prime minister, withdrew his party, PASTEF, from the country's new government.
Sonko's Withdrawal
Mr Sonko announced on Monday that the PASTEF party will no longer participate in the government, nor will any minister represent it. In a live address shortly afterward, Mr Faye announced his new cabinet members, none of whom included PASTEF members, according to Bloomberg. Mr Sonko stated in a post on X that he met with Mr Faye and that "points of disagreement" emerged over the role of PASTEF, which holds a large parliamentary majority, within the executive branch.
"As a result, PASTEF will not participate in the next government and will not be represented there by any minister. We will return to this with more detailed information. We wish every success to the new team," he wrote.
Political Rift and Economic Impact
This latest development stems from the political rift between former allies, which further weakens the country's ability to navigate its debt crisis. In 2024, the IMF suspended its $1.8 billion lending programme to Senegal after authorities uncovered previously misreported debt figures. The suspension raised the country's end-2024 debt burden to 132 per cent of GDP.
The friction originally stems from an increasingly visible power struggle for control of the government, as well as disagreements over economic policy and IMF negotiations. Mr Sonko believed that President Faye was drifting away from the party's original agenda and had previously threatened to pull PASTEF out of government and return to the opposition.
New Prime Minister Appointed
A few days after Mr Sonko's dismissal, Mr Faye appointed Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo, an economist and former banker at the Central Bank of West African States, as the new prime minister.
Sonko Elected Parliament Speaker
Meanwhile, Mr Sonko was elected speaker of the parliament four days after his dismissal. His election came hours after he was reinstated as a lawmaker and installed as the deputy speaker. Mr Sonko was elected president of the National Assembly with 132 of the 133 votes cast, a victory made possible by the ruling PASTEF party's overwhelming parliamentary majority. The former parliament speaker, El Malick Ndiaye, stepped down from his post to make way for Mr Sonko's election.
