President Bassirou Diomaye Faye terminated the mandate of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Friday, marking the culmination of months of escalating friction between the two leaders who rose to power together in April 2024.

In a televised address delivered by the presidential secretary-general Oumar Samba Ba, President Faye announced the immediate removal of Mr. Sonko from office, along with all government ministers and junior ministers. The statement specified that the outgoing cabinet would remain in place to handle routine administrative matters until further notice.

The announcement made no reference to the appointment of a successor, leaving the political landscape uncertain.

Tensions between the head of state and his onetime mentor and charismatic deputy had been intensifying since their election victory, fueled by the prime minister’s expanding influence within the ruling party and beyond.

Mr. Sonko, a prominent critic of former president Macky Sall’s administration, had been barred from contesting the 2024 presidential election due to a defamation conviction that stripped him of civil rights. He subsequently endorsed Mr. Faye to represent the opposition coalition in the vote.

Mr. Sonko’s panafricanist rhetoric resonated deeply with Senegal’s disillusioned youth, who had endured a harsh crackdown on protests against Mr. Sall’s attempts to seek a third term. Both men were released from prison just before the campaign, running under the united slogan “Diomaye Moy Sonko”—“Diomaye is Sonko” in Wolof.

Spontaneous celebrations erupt

“Alhamdoulillah. Tonight I will sleep peacefully in the Keur Gorgui district,” Mr. Sonko wrote on Facebook shortly after the announcement. Within hours, he returned to his residence, where hundreds of supporters gathered to cheer him.

Earlier that day, the outgoing prime minister had addressed Parliament, condemning what he described as Western “tyranny,” accusing foreign powers of attempting to impose homosexuality on Senegal. His remarks came weeks after lawmakers approved stricter penalties for same-sex relations in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Public rifts between the president and prime minister had grown increasingly visible in recent months.

In early May, President Faye publicly criticized the “excessive personalization” of power within the ruling party under Mr. Sonko’s leadership. “As long as he remains prime minister, it is because I trust him. When that trust fades, a new prime minister will be appointed,” he declared in a televised interview.

Mr. Sonko’s party commands a commanding majority in Senegal’s National Assembly following the November 2024 legislative elections.

At the end of April, lawmakers approved an electoral code reform widely condemned by opposition figures, paving the way for Mr. Sonko’s potential candidacy in the 2029 presidential election.

While Mr. Faye lacks the same level of popular enthusiasm, his “Diomaye President” movement has steadily gained traction, raising speculation about his own intentions for 2029.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Senegal ranks as the second most indebted country in sub-Saharan Africa, with debt levels reaching 132 percent of GDP—a burden inherited from the previous administration. In 2024, the new government accused the outgoing regime of concealing this reality, leading to the suspension of a $1.8 billion IMF support program.