Dakar, Senegal — President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named a 30-member government Monday, less than two weeks after firing former prime minister Ousmane Sonko, as Senegal deepens into a political crisis economic distress that is testing the stability of one of west Africa’s most watched democracies.
Sonko, whose Pastef party holds 130 of 165 parliamentary seats, announced hours before the cabinet was announced that his party would not participate, citing irreconcilable differences over economic direction and the future role of Pastef in governance. “Points of disagreement were confirmed, but also, above all, points of disagreement,” Sonko said in a statement on social media. “Pastef will not take part and will not be represented by any ministers.”
Despite Sonko’s refusal, Faye appointed several Pastef members to the new cabinet, retaining finance minister Cheikh Diba — whose portfolio was expanded to include the economy ministry for “more coherence,” according to new Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo. Faye’s first council of ministers is scheduled for Friday.
The political upheaval arrives as Senegal negotiates a renewed lending arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF froze its $1.8 billion programme last year after the previous government was found to have misreported the country’s debt level, which reached 132 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2024. Diba told parliament on May 22 that Senegal expects to resume talks with the Fund during the week of June 8, aiming to reach key agreement points by June 30.
Oxford Economics noted that Sonko’s opposition to IMF conditions and his newly powerful parliamentary position — he was elected assembly speaker on May 27 with support from 132 lawmakers — could severely constrain Faye’s room to implement reforms. “Sonko has signalled an intention to exercise strong parliamentary oversight, potentially constraining the executive’s ability to implement reforms aligned with IMF requirements,” the consultancy said.
Faye, elected in April 2024 on an anti-establishment platform, removed Sonko as prime minister on May 23 following months of escalating tensions over economic policy. The two men, once close allies who rode a wave of youth activism to power, have increasingly diverged over how to handle Senegal’s debt crisis — Sonko advocating a sovereign, anti-IMF approach and Faye more open to international engagement.