The Speaker of the Senegalese Parliament threatens to withdraw confidence from the government of Ahmadou Aminou
Ahmed Salem
Senegalese parliament speaker Ousmane Sonko has threatened to withdraw confidence from the government of his successor, Ahmadou Aminou Mohamed Lo, “if necessary,” amid a growing dispute between him and the country’s president, Bassiro Diomaye Faye.
“What kind of president has time to summon people to the presidential palace from morning till night to form a new political party, at a time when debt repayment has become almost impossible, there is no program with the International Monetary Fund, the rainy season is shrouded in uncertainty, and tensions have escalated to encompass all sectors of social and economic life?” Sonko asked in a speech during a popular festival on Sunday evening in the city of Touba, on the sidelines of the opening of a headquarters for his party, “PASTEV,” which has a parliamentary majority.
He added that he would confront the president, saying, “We have the National Assembly, and therefore we have the means to confront him.” He had previously announced that he would avoid obstructing government work.
Diomé Faye recently announced, during a reception for 306 mayors representing the “Diomé Presidente” coalition that supported him in the 2024 presidential elections, that he will launch a new political party, in a move that reflects the depth of the break between him and Sonko.
A few days ago, the Constitutional Council rejected a draft constitutional amendment approved by the deputies of the “PASTEF” party, headed by Ousmane Sonko, which included a reduction in the powers of the President of the Republic, and which President Faye appealed.
Relations between the two former allies have been increasingly strained for some time, culminating after Dioumaye Faye dismissed Ousmane Sonko from his post as prime minister.
In response, Sonko regained his parliamentary position and was elected Speaker of the unicameral parliament, turning the tension into a tension between the head of the executive branch and the head of the legislative branch.
