In a dramatic late-night decree, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye ended the tenure of his once-inseparable political ally, bringing the curtain down on a partnership that had inspired hope across a continent and plunging Senegal into its deepest political uncertainty in years.
Dakar – Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the entire government, according to a presidential decree read on state broadcaster RTS on Friday evening by Oumar Samba Ba, Minister and Secretary-General of the Presidency. No successor has been named, and the formation of a new government remains unannounced.
The dismissal, delivered via a terse official statement with little fanfare, marks the end of one of West Africa’s most celebrated political alliances and opens a period of acute uncertainty for a country already grappling with a deep economic crisis, stalled IMF negotiations, and mounting street protests.
“The day I am no longer satisfied, I will put Senegal’s interests first.” President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, state television address, 3 May 2026
The fall of a partnership
Less than two years ago, Faye and Sonko were the face of a political revolution. Running under the now-iconic slogan “Diomaye is Sonko,” the two men channelled years of popular rage against the establishment into a first-round presidential victory in March 2024. Faye won over 54 percent of the vote, just ten days after being released from prison. Sonko, barred from running due to a criminal conviction, immediately named Faye his replacement candidate and, upon Faye’s inauguration, was appointed Prime Minister in the new president’s very first act of office.
But the solidarity of the protest movement proved a fragile foundation for governance. By mid-2025, cracks had already appeared: disagreements over the leadership of their ruling coalition, fierce resistance by Sonko to IMF demands for debt restructuring, and an escalating contest over who truly wielded authority in Dakar.
The rupture sharpened into open confrontation in November 2025, when Faye unilaterally removed Aïssatou Mbodj, a senior Sonko loyalist, from the head of the “Diomaye Président” coalition, replacing her with former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, a figure from a previous political era whom Sonko’s allies regarded as a direct provocation. PASTEF, Sonko’s party, publicly rejected the move, declaring that Faye “does not have the power” to make such a change.
Senegal is navigating one of its worst economic crises in decades. The IMF froze a $1.8 billion programme in 2024 after the new government uncovered more than $11 billion in previously misreported debt inherited from the prior administration. Sonko had publicly resisted the Fund’s calls for debt restructuring, a stance that rattled international bond markets and deepened divisions with Faye, who has sought to restore investor confidence.
In March 2026, Sonko escalated further. In a live broadcast, he declared that he was prepared to withdraw PASTEF from the government entirely and return to opposition if Faye strayed from the party’s founding vision. It was an extraordinary gambit: a serving prime minister publicly threatening to collapse his own administration. In the same period, Sonko told lawmakers, “I don’t work for Bassirou Diomaye Faye, I work for Senegal,” a statement widely read as a declaration of independence from presidential authority.
Faye responded with a pointed televised warning on 3 May, telling the nation that the ruling party “risks collapse” if its supporters did not change course, and reminding viewers and Sonko alike that the right to appoint and dismiss a prime minister rested solely with the presidency. Days later, he sent back to parliament an electoral reform bill that would have cleared the path for Sonko to contest the 2029 presidential race, a further sign that the president was actively working to constrain his prime minister’s political ambitions.
What comes next
As of Saturday morning, no new prime minister has been named. Senegal’s constitution vests executive authority firmly in the presidency, and Faye retains command of the state apparatus. But the political fallout from the sacking will be immediate and unpredictable. Sonko commands fierce loyalty among Senegal’s youth and a mass base within PASTEF, the very party that delivered Faye his presidency. Whether Sonko accepts the dismissal quietly, moves into active opposition, or attempts to mobilise his supporters on the streets will shape the country’s near-term stability.
Protests have already erupted in Dakar in recent weeks, with demonstrators demanding government transparency and democratic accountability. International observers and Senegal’s partners will be watching closely: the country has long been regarded as one of West Africa’s most resilient democracies, and its current turmoil arrives at a moment of significant regional fragility.
