Senegal’s National Assembly Speaker El Malick Ndiaye resigned on Monday, just two days after a close ally was fired as prime minister, deepening the political crisis in the West African nation.
Ndiaye’s departure from the speaker’s post clears the way for former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to run for the position. Sonko’s Pastef party holds an overwhelming majority in Senegal’s parliament.
The move could further complicate reform efforts by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who sacked his former ally Sonko last Friday after months of tension.
In a Facebook post, Ndiaye described his resignation as “a personal choice, guided by my conception of institutions, public responsibility, and the nation’s best interests.”
President Faye owes much of his political success to Sonko. Sonko would almost certainly have become president had he not been barred from the 2024 presidential election due to a defamation conviction.
Their Pastef party won the 2024 election on promises of sweeping political reform, fighting corruption, and addressing a debt-laden economy. However, months of disagreement between the president and prime minister have left the ruling coalition fragile.
President Faye’s decision to fire Sonko on Friday risks fueling instability in a country facing a debt crisis and ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF froze a $1.8 billion loan program after discovering misreported debts hidden by the previous government, pushing Senegal’s debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of 2024 to 132% of economic output.
Faye’s move raises the risk of further delays in reaching a new IMF deal. On Friday, before Sonko’s dismissal, Finance Minister Cheikh Diba told parliament the government expected to resume talks with the IMF in the second week of June and hoped to reach an agreement on key issues by June 30.
Sonko was a prominent opposition leader under former President Macky Sall, whose decision to delay the 2024 election sparked unrest. Both Faye and Sonko were former tax officials jailed before the 2024 election. They were freed 10 days before the rescheduled vote, and Faye won with 54% of the vote.
Pastef’s dominance in Senegal’s parliament could complicate governance and passage of reforms needed for IMF support. Last month, lawmakers voted through electoral changes that could clear Sonko to run for president in 2029.
