Dakar — President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has terminated the mandate of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the entire government through a presidential decree issued late Friday evening. This decisive move follows months of escalating tensions between the two leaders who once formed a powerful political alliance.

The announcement was delivered by Presidential Secretary General Oumar Samba Ba during a televised address to the nation. According to the official statement, the president “has terminated the functions of Mr. Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister, and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state serving in the government.” The departing officials have been instructed to “handle current affairs” until new appointments are made.

From opposition to power — and now rupture

Once a prominent critic of former President Macky Sall’s administration (2012-2024), Ousmane Sonko found himself barred from contesting the February 2024 presidential election after a defamation conviction stripped him of his civic rights. The controversial move sparked widespread protests across Senegal, with citizens mobilizing against Sall’s potential bid for a third term.

In a strategic shift, Sonko endorsed his former ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye as an alternative candidate. The gamble paid off handsomely when Faye secured the presidency in a landslide victory. Yet the political honeymoon proved short-lived as deepening rifts emerged between the head of state and his onetime political mentor.

Sonko’s fiery panafricanist rhetoric had ignited passionate support among Senegal’s disillusioned youth, particularly in the run-up to the 2024 election and during months of confrontation with Macky Sall’s administration.

Public reaction and political fallout

Within minutes of the announcement, Sonko took to Facebook to declare, “Alhamdoulillah. Tonight I will sleep peacefully in Keur Gorgui,” referencing his residence in Dakar. Social media footage soon captured jubilant supporters converging on his home, chanting his name in celebration of his removal from office.

The rupture between Faye and Sonko had been months in the making, with public disagreements intensifying and making any prospect of reconciliation increasingly unlikely. Adding to the complexity, Sonko’s party commands an overwhelming majority in Senegal’s National Assembly following its decisive victory in the November 2024 legislative elections.