All posts tagged: Ousmane Sonko

Senegal’s ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye

Senegal’s ousted PM Sonko elected parliament speaker in challenge to President Faye

Published by Sam Flores

Senegal is mired in a deep political crisis after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked the popular Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions. Sonko’s election as parliament speaker comes a day after Faye named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou, former regional central bank official, as prime minister. Read moreSenegal’s President Faye names economist as prime minister after Sonko ouster Senegal is labouring under a huge debt burden amounting to 132 percent of GDP. When Faye and Sonko came to power in 2024, they accused former president Macky Sall’s government of hiding a part of the debt, leading to the suspension of a $1.8 billion IMF aid programme it had agreed in 2023. Faye essentially owes his position to Sonko, his one time mentor who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in the last presidential election due to a defamation conviction. The two men have fallen out in recent months as Senegal battles public debt. Faye wants to discuss a new aid programme with …

Senegal’s president fires PM Sonko, dissolves government

Senegal’s president fires PM Sonko, dissolves government

Published by Sam Flores

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government on Friday after months of tensions, deepening a crisis in the debt-laden west African nation. The shock announcement was made on state television in a decree read out by presidential aide Oumar Samba Ba, who said Faye “has ended the duties of Ousmane Sonko… and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”. No details were provided on the appointment of a new prime minister. “Alhamdulillah (praise be to God). Tonight I will sleep soundly in the Keur Gorgui neighbourhood,” Sonko posted on Facebook after his dismissal, referring to the Dakar district where he lives. Sonko arrived home shortly after midnight, where he greeted hundreds of supporters who had gathered to cheer him on, according to AFP journalists. Senegal is in the unusual situation of having a president who owes his position in large part to the prime minister, who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from …