Senegal's political crisis deepens after Sonko dismissal
Publish date: 25 May 2026
Issue Number: 1178
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Governance
Senegal is facing a deepening political crisis after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, fuelling internal tensions and fears of unrest amid a ballooning debt problem, notes Legalbrief. Faye sacked Sonko and dissolved the national government after months of tensions between the two men, reports BBC News. A decree, read out on TV by a presidential aide, said Faye had ‘ended the duties’ of his one-time political ally Sonko and ‘consequently those of the Ministers and Secretaries of State who are members of the government’. Sonko, a popular figure among Senegal's youth, said on social media that he would ‘sleep with a light heart’. The split comes as the country faces mounting economic pressure, with its public debt having reached the equivalent of 132% of its GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sonko's dismissal followed a parliamentary session last Tuesday, during which the Prime Minister openly criticised Faye for his approach to the debt crisis. Faye was in the unusual situation of owing his position, in large part, to his Prime Minister's popularity.
Sonko would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in 2024's elections due to a defamation conviction. However, Sonko backed Faye's bid for presidency. The pair went on to unseat then-President Macky Sall – an extraordinary victory given they were both in prison until 10 days before the election, according to BBC News. On Tuesday night, several hundred students demonstrated on the streets of the capital city, Dakar, declaring their support for Sonko. No details have been provided on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. Tensions between Sonko and Faye have been on display for months. Faye had reportedly criticised Sonko's ‘excessive personalisation’ within the ruling party Pastef, while Sonko accused the President of a ‘failure of leadership’ for not defending him against his critics. Amid this feud, Senegal's leaders have been grappling with the colossal amount of debt they inherited from the previous government. The IMF has frozen its $1.8bn lending programme with Senegal as a result.
The speaker of Senegal’s Parliament says he is resigning, two days after Sonko, his close ally was fired as Prime Minister, reports Al Jazeera. The move by speaker El Malick Ndiaye clears the way for Sonko to run for the post of head of Parliament, where his Pastef party holds a strong majority. That could further complicate reform efforts by Faye. Ndiaye said on Facebook that his decision to step down was ‘a personal choice, guided above all by my notion of institutions, public responsibility and the greater interest of the nation’. Sonko and Faye’s Pastef party won the 2024 elections on a promise of a profound political shake-up, vowing to fight corruption. Hours after Sonko's dismissal, hundreds of his supporters gathered outside his Dakar home to show their support for him. Sonko's departure as Premier raised the question of how Faye can govern the country when he cannot be assured of the support of the ruling party, according to France24.
‘One can imagine that it is going to be complicated to cohabit with this majority of the Pastef party in the Assembly,’ said Babacar Ndiaye, research director of the West African Think Tank. Faye has to name another Prime Minister to replace Sonko – and that choice will have to be approved by Parliament within three months of his nomination, said Ndiaye to France24. ‘If the deputies decide to table a motion of censure or no confidence, they are capable of doing so,’ he added. The President cannot dissolve Parliament itself until November – two years after the last parliamentary election. And a reform of the electoral code approved by Parliament a few weeks ago means that Sonko is now eligible to run for the presidency. That raises the possibility that the two former political allies might at some point run against each other for the top job.
The split comes as Senegal faces mounting economic pressure, reports Al Jazeera. The IMF froze a $1.8bn lending programme following the discovery of misreported debt hidden by the previous government, pushing the country’s end-2024 debt level to 132% of its economic output. Faye’s move raises the risk of further delays in reaching a new agreement with the IMF. Earlier on Friday, before Sonko’s dismissal, Finance Minister Cheikh Diba told Parliament that the government expects to resume talks with the IMF in the week of 8 June and hopes to reach an agreement on key points by 30 June. Sonko was a popular opposition leader under the previous administration of President Macky Sall, whose decision to delay the 2024 election spurred unrest. Both Faye and Sonko are former tax officials who were jailed ahead of the 2024 election. They were released 10 days before the rescheduled contest, which Faye went on to win with 54% of the vote. Now that Sonko is out of that job, it is unclear what his next steps will be. In March, he said he would be willing to take his Pastef party out of the government and return to opposition if Faye departed from the party’s agenda. Pastef dominates the National Assembly, meaning it could complicate governance and the passage of reforms needed to secure IMF support.
Addressing Parliament hours before his dismissal, Sonko told MPs: ‘I am not a Prime Minister who blindly obeys and agrees to everything’, reports RFI. His firing raises the possibility of a power struggle, warns Maurice Soudieck Dione, a professor of political science at Senegal's Gaston-Berger University. ‘With elections on the horizon – local elections in 2027 and the presidential election in 2029 – the danger is therefore that we may witness a conflict between the presidential majority and the parliamentary majority, which could be detrimental for the smooth running of public affairs,’ said Dione. According to africanews, the former Prime Minister retains a passionate following among the country’s youth. Dakar resident Ibrahima Dione said: ‘Ousmane Sonko has achieved more than any other Minister in the history of Senegal. We will be prouder than ever to stand by his side. Bassirou Diomaye Faye behaved immaturely.’ Faye and Sonko’s Pastef party came to power in 2024 promising to fight government mismanagement. But their personal disagreements have been a distraction. But Faye has his defenders. With the country facing a growing debt crisis, some residents welcomed the news of Sonko’s departure, hoping it might offer a return to stability. ‘Many Senegalese had been waiting for this,’ said Thierno Sow. ‘The President is the one who makes appointments. It is his prerogative to dismiss and to appoint. I think that if it is for the good of the country, then this is what we should do.’
