By Anait Miridzhanian and Diadie Ba
DAKAR, May 22 (Reuters) – Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Friday, according to a statement read on state media, a move that risks reigniting political unrest as the West African country grapples with a debt crisis.
Faye’s decision dissolves the government, dismissing all ministers, according to the statement read by Oumar Samba Ba, secretary general of Faye’s office. “The members of the outgoing government are responsible for handling current affairs,” Ba added.
The move follows months of mounting strains between the two allies-turned-rivals.
Sonko, a charismatic figure with a large youth following, had backed Faye in the 2024 election after being barred from running himself due to a defamation conviction.
In a social media post after the news was announced on Friday night, Sonko said, “Tonight I will sleep with a light heart in the Keur Gorgui neighbourhood,” a reference to his private residence.
In March, he had signalled a possible break, saying he would be willing to take his Pastef party out of the government and return to opposition if Faye departed from the party’s agenda, fuelling speculation of an irresolvable power struggle between the two men.
Among the anti-establishment, pan-Africanist prime minister’s signature initiatives was an audit of Senegal’s resource deals, including those governing its emerging oil and gas sector.
In March, Sonko declared a BP gas contract for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project unfair and revoked some 71 mining licenses.
He promised that renegotiating oil and gas contracts would lower domestic energy prices and boost the economy, helping rebuild Senegal’s battered finances.
The political split comes as Senegal faces mounting economic pressure. The International Monetary Fund froze its $1.8 billion lending program with Senegal following the discovery of misreported debt, which led it to peg the country’s end-2024 debt level at 132% of its economic output.
Last November, Sonko came out strongly against restructuring Senegal’s debt, estimated at $13 billion, saying the IMF was pushing for such a move.
Faye has not been as vocal about the debt issue.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Diadie Ba;Editing by Bate Felix, Robbie Corey-Boulet and Sanjeev Miglani)
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