A fierce public power struggle has erupted between Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, shaking the nation’s ruling coalition and raising fundamental questions about who truly holds political authority.
The conflict, which has played out through public statements, centers on control of the ruling presidential coalition. The situation escalated dramatically on Tuesday when President Faye dismissed the coalition’s leader, a close Sonko ally named Satum BJ, and replaced her with his own advisor, Amina Tatoué.
This move by the President directly contradicted a public assurance made by Prime Minister Sonko just days earlier, in which he stated there would be “no change at the head of the coalition.”
The dismissal was met with immediate and forceful pushback from Sonko’s political party, Pastef. In a statement, the party asserted that President Faye has “no power to dismiss the official” and formally rejected the new appointment of Tatoué. The public nature of the dispute has led to open questions regarding the President’s authority within the very coalition that brought him to power.
The political alliance between President Faye and Prime Minister Sonko has been widely viewed as a partnership of necessity. For many observers in Senegal, this public feud serves as a critical litmus test for the stability of their governing duo. Whether this power struggle will subside or intensify remains a central and unresolved question for the nation’s political future.
