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4w ago

Sonko Elected Speaker as President Appoints Technocrat Prime Minister

Control of the majority-led National Assembly now gives Pastef a powerful check on the presidency, risking paralysis over how Senegal handles its heavy public debt and talks with the IMF.

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Ousmane Sonko est acclamé par ses partisans à son arrivée à son domicile de Dakar, le 23 mai 2026, après avoir été démis de ses fonctions de Premier ministre du Sénégal.
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Overview

  • President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and on Monday named Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô, a former BCEAO banker, to lead the government.
  • Ousmane Sonko returned to the legislature and was elected president (speaker) of the National Assembly in a session on Tuesday that opposition deputies boycotted and denounced as an institutional coup.
  • Sonko’s Pastef controls about 130 of 165 seats in the Assembly, giving him formal tools to block or reshape legislation and oversight of the executive.
  • A central dispute between Sonko and President Faye concerns how to handle Senegal’s debt, reported near 132% of GDP, and whether to pursue a new IMF program or more sovereignist alternatives.
  • The split risks short-term governance paralysis, could unsettle donors and markets that view Lô’s appointment as a signal to investors, and raises questions about Pastef’s cohesion and the delivery of reforms.