Dakar, Senegal — Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye named a new 30-member government Monday, less than two weeks after firing his former ally and prime minister Ousmane Sonko, as the west African nation deepens into a political crisis economic distress.
Sonko, whose Pastef party controls 130 of 165 seats in parliament, announced hours before the cabinet was announced that his party would not participate in the new government following disagreements with Faye over the direction of the economy 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 named several Pastef members to the new cabinet, including retained finance minister Cheikh Diba — whose portfolio was expanded to include the economy ministry to create “more coherence,” according to new Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo. Faye’s first council of ministers meeting 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 in the week of June 8, aiming to reach agreement on key points by June 30.
Oxford Economics said Sonko’s opposition to IMF conditions and his newly powerful parliamentary position — he was elected assembly speaker on May 27 with the support of 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 noted.
Faye, who was elected in April 2024 on a platform of anti-establishment change, 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 — with Sonko advocating a sovereign, anti-IMF approach and Faye more open to international engagement.