Senegal President Dissolves Government Amid Months-Long Feud With Former Ally

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye moved on Friday to dissolve his own government, firing Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and rescinding the appointments of all cabinet ministers in a dramatic escalation of a power struggle that has paralysed the executive branch for months. The decision, announced by the presidency in the early morning hours, ended a partnership that had defined Faye’s presidency since his election last year and set the country on an uncertain political course just months before legislative elections.

The president’s office said Sonko had been dismissed “for serious and persisted breaches of the law” and for “obstructing the functioning of government.” Sonko, who was not immediately available for comment, had been summoned to a meeting at the presidential palace on Thursday evening but did not attend, according to government officials. He had earlier refused to implement several cabinet decisions and had publicly challenged the president’s authority on multiple occasions.

The fallout was immediate. Sonko’s allies in the parliament issued a statement calling the dismissal “illegal and unconstitutional,” and members of the dissolved cabinet were seen leaving government buildings in central Dakar within hours of the announcement. Several hundred supporters of Sonko gathered outside the prime minister’s official residence, singing party anthems and denouncing what they called a “political purge.”

An Alliance That Fractured

Faye and Sonko were once close allies. Both were central figures in the opposition movement that challenged former President Macky Sall’s government, and both were released from prison in advance of last year’s election under an amnesty deal brokered by the OAS regional grouping. Faye won the presidency convincingly, and Sonko, whose legal troubles stemmed from multiple charges including defamation and sexual misconduct, was appointed prime minister despite ongoing judicial proceedings against him.

The alliance was always uneasy. Sonko, who leads the Pastef party and commands strong support among urban youth, pushed for an aggressive nationalist agenda. Faye, who ran on a platform of institutional reform and anti-corruption, sought to govern with broader consensus. The two men disagreed publicly on economic policy, foreign relations, and the pace of constitutional change, and their disagreements increasingly spilled into open confrontation.

The final break appears to have come over the question of the country’s relationship with international partners. Sonko had taken increasingly hardline positions on Western influence in Senegal, including a widely reported attack on “homosexual tyranny” from the West, a remark that drew sharp criticism from the European Union and the United States and complicated Senegal’s negotiations over a new aid package with the International Monetary Fund.

Faye, who has sought to maintain Senegal’s traditional partnerships while diversifying its international relationships, apparently decided that Sonko’s rhetoric and behavior had become a liability too large to bear.

What’s Next for Senegal

The dissolution leaves Senegal without a functioning government at a moment when several pressing issues require urgent attention. The country’s economy is under pressure from a combination of currency weakness, high food import costs, and the aftermath of the global inflation shock that followed the conflict in Eastern Europe. Negotiations with the IMF over a new financing programme are at a delicate stage, and the political vacuum could complicate those talks.

The next legislative elections are scheduled for later this year, and the dissolution of the government gives Faye an opportunity to call elections earlier than expected, a move his supporters say will allow him to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate and break the parliamentary deadlock that has hindered his agenda. Opponents say the timing is designed to capitalise on the collapse of Sonko’s political coalition while it is still reeling from the prime minister’s dismissal.

Regional observers are watching closely. Senegal has long been regarded as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies, and the dramatic breakup of the Faye-Sonko alliance has raised questions about whether the country’s institutions are robust enough to absorb this level of political shock without a broader crisis. The Economic Community of West African States has called for calm and urged all parties to respect the constitutional order.

For ordinary Senegalese, the immediate concern is more practical. The government handles essential services, water, electricity, public transportation, and healthcare, all of which are already under strain. Many people in Dakar woke up Friday to the news of the dissolution and waited to see what it would mean for the buses that run on time, the schools that have enough teachers, and the hospitals that have enough medicine.

“We just want things to work,” said Aminata Diallo, a civil servant in the capital. “Whoever is in charge, we need a government that actually governs. That is all we ask.”