Senegal’s president sacks prime minister amid deepening political rifts

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye abruptly terminated Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s mandate on Friday evening, shattering the fragile alliance that had propelled both figures into power following the February 2024 presidential election. The announcement, delivered via national television by presidential secretary-general Oumar Samba Ba, stated that the head of state had ended Mr. Sonko’s role as Prime Minister, along with those of all ministers and junior ministers in the outgoing government. The dismissed officials were instructed to handle only current affairs until a new cabinet is formed.

This decisive move concludes a partnership forged in opposition to former President Macky Sall, whose later years in office were marked by sharp confrontation with Ousmane Sonko’s camp. After Sonko was barred from running due to a defamation conviction that stripped him of civil rights, he backed Bassirou Diomaye Faye as their coalition’s candidate, playing a pivotal role in securing the presidency.

A rivalry rooted in growing power struggles

The rift between the two leaders intensified after the new administration took office in Dakar. Tensions simmered over competing spheres of influence and disagreements on governance, with Sonko’s stature as a champion of sovereign and pan-African ideals continuing to resonate deeply among Senegal’s youth. For many activists, he remained the driving force behind the political shift, putting President Faye in an awkward position vis-à-vis his former mentor.

Friction escalated further after the November 2024 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling party won decisively—a victory closely tied to Sonko’s enduring popularity. Recent incidents in Dakar underscored widening disagreements between the presidency and the prime minister’s office, fueling speculation that a breakup was imminent.

Within minutes of the announcement, Ousmane Sonko responded on Facebook with a brief, loaded message: “Alhamdoulillah. Tonight I will sleep peacefully in Keur Gorgui.” The phrase referenced his home in the Dakar neighborhood where, shortly afterward, videos showed dozens of supporters gathering outside his residence, chanting his name.

Parliamentary majority faces new uncertainty

The president’s decision plunges Senegal into a period of major political uncertainty. Even without his official title, Sonko remains a dominant force in the National Assembly, whose ruling-party majority could soon turn this personal split into a full-blown institutional standoff. He remains one of the country’s most popular political figures.

The swift rise of the Faye-Sonko duo had been built on fierce criticism of entrenched elites, condemnation of ties with France, and a pledge to overhaul the political system. For months, their movement galvanized urban youth, energized largely by Sonko’s uncompromising rhetoric.

By removing the man who once mentored him, President Faye now risks alienating the loyal base that still looks to the former prime minister as the true architect of change. In Dakar, political circles already buzz with speculation over how quickly the balance of power at the top will realign—amid a country that, despite past turbulence, had so far maintained institutional stability.