Senegal’s president appoints new cabinet, omits rival party from government.

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced a new government on Monday, excluding the party led by his former ally Ousmane Sonko, whom he had dismissed as prime minister over political disagreements.

The announcement was made during a live television broadcast less than two weeks after Faye fired Sonko and dissolved the cabinet following disputes that included concerns about the country’s troubled economy.

Sonko, a popular figure, was quickly elected speaker of parliament by his allies in a vote that the opposition boycotted, further deepening the political crisis in the West African country.

Sonko remains the undisputed leader of Pastef, the party he founded in 2014, to which Faye also belongs. Pastef controls 130 of the 165 seats in Senegal’s sole legislative body.

On Monday, Faye appointed senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo as prime minister, stating that the new appointee possessed the expertise needed to guide Senegal out of its crippling debt.

Lo read out the list of 30 new ministers, none of whom were from Pastef, which had dominated the previous administration.

Sonko said his party would not join the cabinet after a “long conversation” with Faye earlier that Monday, in which they reached some points of agreement but also highlighted significant disagreements.

“Some points of agreement were indeed confirmed, but also, above all, points of disagreement,” Sonko said in a statement posted on social media.

Faye had appointed Sonko as prime minister in April 2024, just days after being elected president.

Sonko would almost certainly have secured the top job if he had not been barred from the presidential election due to a defamation conviction.

With his pan‑Africanist rhetoric, Sonko had attracted a following among young Senegalese after a power struggle with former president Macky Sall, who ruled from 2012 to 2024.

Tensions began to surface in July when Sonko accused Faye of a “failure of leadership” for not supporting him adequately against his many critics.

Earlier this month, the president criticized Sonko, saying the party needed to be “depersonalised” from any single leader.

While Faye is open to discussions with the International Monetary Fund about a new loan programme, Sonko has advocated a more sovereign approach.

The post Senegal president names government, excluding rival’s party appeared first on Vanguard News.