Senegal’s Sonko slams Prime Minister appointment in first speech as speaker

Senegal’s newly elected speaker of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, has spoken publicly for the first time since taking up the post, sharply criticizing the appointment of the country’s new prime minister.

Sonko, leader of the PASTEF party, said his movement was sidelined in the consultations that led President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to name a new head of government, a role Sonko himself previously held.

“Our political party was not involved in the consultations that led to the appointment of a prime minister. It is not, to this day, involved in the consultations for the formation of a government,” Sonko told lawmakers. “Consequently, I would like to say that you cannot have Pastef without Pastef.”

Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister and dissolved the cabinet four days ago, following months of mounting tensions and disagreements within the governing camp, including over Senegal’s struggling economy.

Sonko described PASTEF as a unique force in Senegalese politics, claiming it simultaneously wields influence in both the opposition and the governing majority.

“Pastef, which is the political party, and this is unprecedented in the political annals of this country and perhaps of the world, which is at once the majority force in the opposition and in power, remains open to a responsible discussion that sets egos aside in order to find ways and means for calm, peaceful governance,” he said.

The opposition, which argues that Sonko’s return to parliament is illegal, boycotted the session by walking out of the chamber ahead of his address.