President of Senegal's Parliament resigns days after PM dismissed

Senegal's National Assembly President El Malick Ndiaye announced his resignation late on Sunday, just two days after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye abruptly dismissed Ousmane Sonko from his position as Prime Minister.

Ndiaye's departure is widely seen as a strategic manoeuvre to clear the way for Sonko — a fiery, popular pan‑Africanist leader — to take over leadership of the National Assembly, where the ruling party, African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF), holds a commanding majority (130 out of 165 seats).

An official legislative document confirmed that lawmakers have been summoned to a plenary session on Tuesday morning to reinstate Sonko as a member of parliament and vote on a new speaker.

A fractured alliance

The sudden breakdown between Faye and Sonko marks a dramatic turn for a political partnership that shaped Senegalese politics in 2024. Faye rode to victory with support from Sonko, who was barred from running in the 2024 elections due to a controversial defamation conviction. The 46‑year‑old swept to power with more than 54% of the vote on a populist platform, vowing to combat deep-seated corruption and alleviate a burgeoning debt crisis.

However, behind‑the‑scenes friction has mounted for months. Tensions publicly boiled over recently as Faye criticized what he termed the "excessive personalization" of the ruling party under Sonko. At the same time, the prime minister openly accused the president of a "failure of leadership."

Writing on social media following his dismissal on Friday night, Sonko remained defiant, telling supporters he would "sleep with a light heart" and was "not a prime minister who blindly obeys."

On his part, the outgoing speaker Ndiaye defended his resignation on Facebook, describing it as: "...a personal choice, guided above all by my conception of institutions, public responsibility and the greater interest of the nation."

IMF bailout at risk

The worsening political paralysis hits Senegal at an exceptionally delicate economic juncture. The country is currently grappling with a severe fiscal crisis after a government audit revealed billions of dollars in unrecorded debt hidden by the previous administration under Macky Sall. The revelation pushed Senegal's debt burden to an alarming 132% of GDP, prompting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to freeze a vital $1.8 billion lending program.

The leadership vacuum risks derailing sensitive efforts to restart those frozen talks. Just hours before the government was dissolved on Friday, Finance Minister Cheikh Diba had informed parliament that negotiations with the IMF were scheduled to resume in early June, with an agreement needed by June 30.

With PASTEF dominating the legislature, Sonko’s potential ascension to the speakership sets up a powerful rival base of authority to the presidency. If Sonko secures the post, he could wield immense leverage over the structural reforms required by international lenders, reforms he has historically viewed with skepticism.

The political calculus is further charged by a recent parliamentary amendment to the electoral code. Passed just last month, the legislative change effectively erases the legal barriers that previously blocked Sonko from higher office, opening a direct path for him to run for the presidency in 2029.

(With input from wires)