Senegal’s former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was dramatically sacked on Friday by the president, has been elected Speaker of the national parliament setting up a possible source of conflict at the top of Senegalese politics.
The West African nation’s current crisis follows months of tension between Sonko and his one-time ally President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Parliament’s previous Speaker stepped down on Sunday to make way for the former prime minister, who is a popular figure and whose Pastef party has a majority of the seats in the National Assembly.
On Monday, Faye appointed economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo to replace Sonko as prime minister.
From jail to Africa’s youngest elected president
Relations between the president and his now-former prime minister had been deteriorating for months, with Sonko openly criticising Faye for his handling of Senegal’s debt problems.
“What is at stake is the relationship between morality and politics,” Sonko has since said, promising not to use his new position to “to fight against anyone” and instead ensure that parliament acts in Senegalese citizens’ best interests.
Yet Sonko has also said that his dismissal as prime minister does not mean his political career is over.
Sonko’s new role as Speaker – the second highest political position in the country – could limit President Faye’s ability to manoeuvre if he fails to secure parliamentary support for his policies, analysts say.
The president cannot dissolve parliament until at least two years after the last election – that means any move to prematurely end the mandates of lawmakers before November this year would be considered invalid.
