Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions, deepening the crisis in the debt-ridden West African country.
This surprise announcement was made on state television in a decree read by presidential advisor Oumar Samba Ba, who stated that Mr. Faye "has terminated the functions of Ousmane Sonko... and, consequently, those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government."
Senegal finds itself in the unusual situation of having a president who owes his position largely to his prime minister, who would most certainly have acceded to the presidency had he not been excluded from the race due to a conviction for defamation.
Relations between Faye and the charismatic Sonko, her former mentor, have deteriorated in recent months.
Their party, Pastef, won the first round of the March 2024 elections by a landslide, promising profound political upheaval and pledging to fight what they called corruption and mismanagement of public affairs.
Despite Sonko's popularity, it is Faye who holds all the real power as president and can dismiss his head of government by a simple decree.
Sonko has sparked passionate enthusiasm among disillusioned youth in Senegal in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
He particularly struck a chord with his pan-Africanist rhetoric and his firm stance towards the former colonial power, France.
In a thunderous speech to supporters of his party, Pastef, in early July, Sonko accused Faye of a "lack of leadership" for not having sufficiently supported him against his many detractors.
