Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government on Friday after months of political tension, just hours after Sonko delivered a sharp rebuke of Western countries over homosexuality. State television announced the decision through a sudden decree. The West African country was already grappling with a heavy debt burden, and the incident has deepened the political turmoil.
Sonko had recently said Western nations were trying to pressure other countries to accept homosexuality. He made the comments after Senegal passed a new law toughening penalties for homosexual conduct. He was dismissed within hours.
Referring to criticism from France and other countries, Sonko said: “If they want to choose that path, that is their problem. We do not need lessons on this matter.”
Presidential office official Omar Samba read out the decree and said President Faye had removed Sonko from his post, prompting other cabinet ministers to resign as well. A new prime minister has not been announced. After his dismissal, Sonko wrote on social media: “Alhamdulillah. Tonight I will sleep in peace at Keur Gorgui.” Keur Gorgui is Sonko’s neighborhood in Dakar, where hundreds of supporters gathered at his home.
Faye largely came to power on the back of Sonko’s support. Sonko had been the front-runner for the 2024 presidential election but was barred from running after a defamation conviction. The two men once co-founded the Pastef party. They won the 2024 election in the first round on promises to curb corruption and reform the economy.
Sonko is popular among Senegalese youth, particularly for his Pan-African stance and his hard line against former colonial power France. But because all executive power rests with the president, Faye can remove the prime minister through a decree at any time.
Relations between the two men have soured in recent months. In a television interview in May, Faye publicly criticized Sonko’s monopoly on power. The new administration has been working under a heavy debt load since taking office. According to the International Monetary Fund, Senegal’s debt has reached 132 percent of gross domestic product, the second-highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
A new bill recently passed by parliament will allow Sonko to contest the 2029 presidential election. The legal reform lifts an earlier ban that prevented people convicted of defamation from running for office.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report