Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye appointed a seasoned economist and former central banking executive as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday. The decision follows the
The report indicates that senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye appointed a seasoned economist and former central banking executive as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday. The decision follows the dramatic dismissal of the prime minister and his entire cabinet last week. This high-stakes political realignment comes at a critical juncture for the West African nation. The country is currently navigating a crippling debt crisis alongside an internal fracture within the ruling party that has rapidly escalated into a full-scale institutional standoff.
It further notes that according to a statement read on national television, President Faye named Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo as the head of government, replacing Ousmane Sonko. However, the political landscape shifted violently on Tuesday morning when the National Assembly defiantly elected the freshly ousted Sonko as its new parliament speaker, threatening total legislative deadlock.
Sonko was sacked on Friday, after months of simmering tensions between him and the president. The abrupt dismissal triggered the resignation of all the members of the government and its dissolution.
The political partnership between Faye and Sonko was once the cornerstone of the ruling party, Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Éthique et la Fraternité (Pastef). Pastef had ridden into office in the March 2024 parliamentary election after a fierce campaign against the then-ruling party, Alliance pour la République. That campaign was fueled by widespread speculation that former President Macky Sall wanted to use a 2016 constitutional change to revise his term in office.
Faye essentially owes his position to Sonko, his one-time mentor, who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in the last presidential election due to a defamation conviction. When the Supreme Court upheld the conviction and the Constitutional Court dismissed his candidacy, Faye ran instead. Following his victory, Faye appointed Sonko as prime minister.
Sonko generated a passionate following among Senegal’s disaffected youth ahead of the 2024 poll. However, under Senegal’s constitutional framework, it is Faye who wields the real power as president, meaning he could fire his head of government by simple decree.
The political split between the two leaders ultimately widened into a fundamental disagreement over how to resolve Senegal’s severe financial distress. Senegal is labouring under a huge debt burden amounting to 132 per cent of GDP. When Faye and Sonko came to power in 2024, they accused former president Macky Sall’s government of hiding a part of the debt. This discovery of misreported debt led to the suspension of a $1.8 billion IMF aid program that t had been agreed in 2023.
The two men have fallen out in recent months as Senegal battles public debt. Faye wants to discuss a new aid programme with the IMF, while Sonko prefers a domestic, sovereignist approach. Ousmane Sonko, the outgoing prime minister, had opposed any restructuring of the debt, estimated at $13 billion, which he stated the IMF was advocating, while Faye has been less vocal on the issue. Faye and Sonko had openly disagreed on key policies over the past few months, including about the negotiations for a loan from the International Monetary Fund. Earlier in May, Faye stated Sonko would only keep his job if he did it properly.
In choosing Lo, President Faye selected a technocrat with extensive financial credentials. Lo formerly served as head of the Senegal branch of the Central Bank of West African States, where he played a significant role in shaping monetary and economic policies at the regional level. He also possesses close knowledge of the current administration, having served as state minister to the president and secretary-general of Sonko’s government. A decree on Monday announcing his appointment stated Lo knows “the inner workings of the economy and finance.”
Lo will now have to form a new government. Appearing on state television for the announcement of his appointment, Lo stated he wanted to reassure the local private sector and foreign investors even as he acknowledged Senegal’s difficult financial position.
“We must all be aware of the state of emergency our country currently finds itself in. In particular, the state of public finances and its impact on the economy,” Lo said. “Senegal is a safe and reliable country and intends to remain so.”
Lo sought to frame his appointment as a procedural adjustment rather than an ideological shift from the platform that brought Pastef to power. In his remarks on Monday, Lo stated his appointment did not signal a retreat from Senegal’s commitment to “systemic transformation” under Faye, but instead reflected a new approach aligned with the president’s vision.
“This is not a change of direction but of method,” Lo said, citing integrity and transparency and “economic and cultural sovereignty” – all of which Sonko had espoused.
Lo also offered conciliatory words for Sonko, praising the record of the government he led, including an economic recovery plan announced last year that featured a heavy reliance on domestic funding.
