Senegal’s political landscape was thrown into uncertainty on Friday after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the entire government, capping months of growing discord between the two former close allies.
The surprise announcement, made late Friday evening via a presidential decree read on state television, confirmed weeks of speculation that the once-unshakeable partnership between the two anti-establishment figures had collapsed.
“The Prime Minister is relieved of his duties. The government is hereby dissolved,” the decree stated, without immediately providing reasons for the dramatic decision. A presidential source later confirmed that Mr. Sonko, a firebrand opposition leader who paved the way for Mr. Faye’s election, had been asked to leave the prime minister’s office earlier in the day.
The rift between the two leaders has been an open secret in Dakar for several months. While they ran on a joint ticket promising radical economic reform, sovereignty, and social justice, officials say tensions escalated over the pace of cabinet reshuffles, the management of key energy contracts, and differing approaches to negotiations with international creditors.
“They were brothers in opposition, but governing is different,” said a senior official in the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The President felt that policy implementation was being systematically slowed down by a parallel center of decision-making.”
Mr. Sonko, who remains immensely popular among Senegal’s youth, was legally barred from running for the presidency himself due to a prior defamation conviction. He instead endorsed Mr. Faye, his trusted deputy, who won a sweeping victory in 2024. Sonko was subsequently appointed prime minister—a role many saw as a de facto co-presidency.
However, the power-sharing arrangement became increasingly strained. In recent weeks, Mr. Sonko had skipped several cabinet meetings, and last month, the two leaders publicly disagreed over a proposed amendment to Senegal’s mining code.
Opposition figures reacted with caution. Former President Macky Sall’s party issued a statement saying the dissolution “reveals the fragility of a regime built on a single political personality.”
In a brief address to supporters outside his residence late Friday, Mr. Sonko said he had not resisted the dismissal. “I have served my country with loyalty,” he said. “The project for a sovereign, just Senegal does not depend on any one person. I will speak more fully in due course.”
President Faye has not yet announced a successor. It remains unclear whether he will appoint a new prime minister or assume direct control of the government, which would require constitutional review. Analysts suggest the move may be aimed at consolidating executive authority ahead of difficult budget negotiations later this year.
The dissolved government will continue to handle routine affairs in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed, according to the decree.
Political scientist Dr. Aminata Diallo, based at Cheikh Anta Diop University, described the decision as a high-risk gambit. “President Faye is betting that he can govern without Sonko’s shadow,” she told Reuters. “But Sonko still commands a fierce grassroots movement. The coming weeks will tell us whether this is a surgical political correction—or the beginning of a major fracture in the ruling coalition.”
Street reactions in the capital were muted on Friday night, though small groups of Sonko supporters gathered in the Colobane neighborhood, where security forces maintained a visible presence.
