President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the Senegalese government on Friday, May 23 [1, 2].
The move signals a profound rupture within the country's top leadership, potentially destabilizing the administration after a period of public internal conflict.
The dismissal followed several months of tension between the president and the prime minister [3]. Reports indicate the friction stemmed from a growing power struggle, during which Sonko publicly criticized key policies implemented by President Faye [2, 3].
A presidential aide read the official decree and said that the president "ended the duties of his one‑time political ally Sonko and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government" [4].
The political fallout continued into the following week. The speaker of the Senegalese parliament resigned two days after the prime minister was dismissed [1].
This series of resignations and dismissals has left the government in Dakar in a state of transition. The dissolution of the cabinet means that all ministers, and secretaries of state, have been removed from their posts alongside Sonko [4].
“President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the Senegalese government”
The dismissal of Ousmane Sonko represents a critical shift in Senegal's political landscape, as the alliance between Faye and Sonko was central to their rise to power. The subsequent resignation of the parliament speaker suggests that the instability extends beyond the executive branch and into the legislative arm, potentially complicating the passage of future government policies.
