Senegal on the brink of political crisis: National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko threatens to topple the government “as many times as necessary”
In a fiery speech on Sunday evening in the holy city of Touba, Ousmane Sonko — former Prime Minister, leader of the Pastef party, and current President of the National Assembly — launched a scathing attack on President **Bassirou Diomaye Faye**, accusing him of abandoning the sovereignist project that brought them to power and prioritizing personal political ambitions over the Senegalese people.
> “The Senegalese people must know that they are in no way the concern of Bassirou Diomaye Faye,” Sonko declared.
Sonko warned that his party’s strong parliamentary majority gives him the power to bring down the government “as many times as necessary” through motions of no confidence. He specifically criticized the current administration for allegedly backing away from renegotiating strategic contracts with multinationals (particularly in the phosphate sector) and failing to manage public debt and economic challenges effectively.
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Key Context
– Sonko was dismissed as Prime Minister on May 22, 2026, but quickly rebounded by winning the presidency of the National Assembly on May 26.
– Tensions escalated further after the Constitutional Council recently struck down a constitutional reform passed by the Assembly that aimed to shift power balances.
– Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô responded on Facebook, stating: “Seeking to make patriotism the monopoly of one camp is precisely to betray it.”
This marks the end of a fragile truce between the former allies who swept into power on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment. The country now faces the real possibility of repeated governmental instability in the coming weeks.
Source: RFI