Ousmane Sonko's Parliamentary Comeback Amid Senegal's Political Tensions

Ousmane Sonko is elected as Senegal's parliament speaker despite tensions with President Faye. His new role enhances his influence over legislative processes, which could alter Senegal's political landscape amid a national debt crisis.

Senegal's National Assembly elected ousted Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as parliament speaker on Tuesday, defying President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who fired him days earlier and threatening political deadlock in a country already buckling under record debt.

Sonko was sacked alongside all other ministers last week, following months of tensions between him and the president as the powerful partnership that drove them to power crumbled. His firing triggered the resignation of the parliament speaker. Faye named a new prime minister on Monday and is expected to announce a new cabinet in the coming days.

Faye and Sonko took office following the March 2024 presidential election, promising to carry out ambitious reforms that included fighting corruption, creating jobs for Senegal's growing young population and maximising natural resource benefits.

But the two have openly disagreed on key policies in recent months, including about negotiations for a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

As speaker, Sonko now can shape which laws come to a vote, scrutinise government reforms and introduce legislation - powers that could put him on a collision course with the president he once served, said Babacar Ndiaye, a political analyst at the Senegal-based Wathi think tank.

Sonko said he would not use his role as parliament speaker to settle personal scores with Faye, but promised to hold the government to account and use every constitutional power at his disposal to do so.

Faye and Sonko were former allies from the party known as Pastef, which holds a strong majority in parliament with 130 deputies out of 165. Sonko leads the party and could challenge Faye's authority.

Senegal, meanwhile, grapples with a deepening debt crisis and rising cost of living. The country has one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in Africa, after a government audit last year revealed a larger-than-reported debt of USD 13 billion attributed to the previous administration.