Tensions rise over leadership rhetoric

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the ruling party is on a path that could lead to its downfall but that the party’s leader, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, will remain in his post if he keeps ‘doing his job properly’. According to CNBC Africa, Faye’s comments, aired on state television, come amid persistent speculation that the two men’s political alliance is on the rocks as the West African country faces growing economic challenges linked to debt and the fallout from the Iran war. Sonko was a popular opposition figure under the previous administration, but he was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election due to a legal conviction. Sonko chose little-known Faye, a long-time aide and member of the Pastef party, as his replacement candidate. Faye then appointed Sonko as Prime Minister. Since then, signs of dissension have begun to appear between the two men. In March, Sonko said he was willing to take his party out of the government and return to opposition if Faye broke with Pastef’s vision. Faye noted that he had the right to appoint and dismiss his Prime Minister. ‘As long as (Sonko) remains Prime Minister, it’s because he is doing his job properly, and I am satisfied with that. However, the day I am no longer satisfied, I will put Senegal’s interests first,’ he said.

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