A political crisis, anticipated for months by observers of Senegalese affairs, has now fully materialized. In Dakar, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye terminated the mandate of his Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, solidifying a top-level executive rupture that many believed could have been avoided until the very last moment. The former head of government, who founded and leads the Pastef party, responded by re-focusing his efforts on the parliamentary arena, where his political formation commands a comfortable majority following the snap legislative elections.
An untenable cohabitation at the executive’s summit
Since the March 2024 presidential election, the Diomaye-Sonko partnership represented a unique political experiment within West Africa. The substitute candidate, propelled to the highest office after his mentor’s ineligibility, had pledged to govern collaboratively. This implicit agreement rested on a delicate balance: institutional legitimacy for the president, and partisan authority coupled with a strong militant base for the prime minister. While lauded by supporters as a democratic innovation, this very structure inherently contained the seeds of its eventual breakdown.
Over succeeding months, disagreements mounted concerning the pace of reforms, the handling of legal cases inherited from the Macky Sall administration, economic policy direction, and the fulfillment of campaign pledges. As President Faye increasingly asserted his presidential authority, the Prime Minister’s operational scope diminished. Senegal’s constitutional framework, which firmly places the Head of State at the apex, left little room for a duumvirate where both figures claimed a share of the popular sovereignty secured in 2024.
Ousmane Sonko’s strategic pivot to the National Assembly
Despite his removal from the Prime Ministry, Ousmane Sonko has not retreated from the political stage. The leader of Pastef retains a critical advantage: control over the parliamentary majority that emerged from the legislative elections. By strategically positioning himself within the National Assembly, he effectively transforms the legislative chamber into a political headquarters and a powerful lever for institutional opposition against the presidential palace. This maneuver echoes the trajectories of several African political figures who, after being sidelined from the executive, successfully utilized Parliament as a sustained platform for influence.
This new configuration places Bassirou Diomaye Faye in a precarious position. The Head of State must now navigate with a parliamentary majority that largely remains loyal to his former Prime Minister, significantly constraining his legislative flexibility. The appointment of a new government, the passage of upcoming budgets, and the implementation of major reforms promised to the electorate are now contingent on an unprecedented power dynamic within the very political family currently in power.
Implications for Senegal’s national trajectory
The rift between the two leaders extends beyond personal differences; it raises questions about the cohesion of the sovereignist agenda championed by Pastef. This includes critical areas such as the renegotiation of oil and gas contracts, the potential revision of the CFA franc, a comprehensive audit of public finances, and migration policy. Senegal’s international partners, ranging from the International Monetary Fund to investors involved in the Sangomar and Grand Tortue Ahmeyim fields, will closely monitor the institutional stability of a nation previously regarded as a democratic model on the continent.
Regionally, this episode unfolds at a time when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is striving to mend divisions following the withdrawal of Sahelian states grouped under the Alliance of Sahel States. Dakar, which had assumed a mediating role under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s impetus, could see its diplomatic influence weakened by this internal turmoil. The key question remains whether the President can successfully install a new governmental team capable of stabilizing the country, or if Pastef’s militant base, traditionally loyal to Ousmane Sonko, will make its voice heard on the streets.
Senegal is now entering a period of political uncertainty, the outcome of which will profoundly shape the country’s second democratic transition.
