Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced a new cabinet during a live television broadcast on May 26, less than two weeks after dismissing Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko — his former close ally — and dissolving the previous government amid disagreements over economic challenges.
In the reshuffle, Faye appointed senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo as prime minister, citing his expertise to steer Senegal out of its debt crisis. Lo's list of 30 ministers included some Pastef party members but omitted many senior figures from the previous administration.
Shortly after, Sonko — who was recently elected president of the National Assembly — declared on social media that following a long meeting with President Faye the same day, "points of disagreement" had emerged over the future role of Pastef. As a result, he said, Pastef — the party he founded in 2014, which controls 130 of Senegal's 165 parliamentary seats — "will not participate in the new government and will have no minister representatives." He added: "We wish the new team every success."
The move marks the latest twist in a political crisis gripping the West African nation. Faye had appointed Sonko as prime minister in April 2024, shortly after winning the presidency. Sonko would almost certainly have won the presidential election had he not been barred from running due to a prior defamation conviction.
A pan-Africanist with a populist touch, Sonko had rallied vast support among Senegal's youth after a bitter power struggle with former President Macky Sall (2012–2024). Tensions between Faye and Sonko began surfacing as early as July, when Sonko accused Faye of "failing in his leadership" for not backing him strongly enough against criticism. By May, President Faye had argued that the party needed to "depersonalize" itself from any single leader. Policy differences also sharpened: while Faye has been open to discussing a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sonko favors a more sovereignty-focused approach.
