Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has said he is prepared to withdraw his party from government and return to opposition if President Bassirou Diomaye Faye diverges from their shared political vision, amid persistent rumours of tensions between the two leaders.
Speaking during a live broadcast, Sonko said the situation would remain straightforward “if the president is aligned with his party.” However, he warned that if differences deepen, the country could enter what he described as a “soft power-sharing” arrangement. In the event of a clearer rupture, he added, either a more difficult cohabitation would follow or the ruling party, Pastef — which he leads and which holds a parliamentary majority — would move back into opposition.
The remarks come at a sensitive time for Senegal, marked by unrest in universities and protracted negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF froze a $1.8 billion programme in 2024 after the new government reported previously undisclosed debts from the former administration, estimated at more than $11 billion.
Sonko, a prominent opposition figure under the previous government, was barred from contesting the 2024 presidential election due to a legal conviction and instead backed Faye, a longtime ally, who won the presidency and later appointed him prime minister.
Signs of strain have surfaced in recent months, including conflicting statements in November regarding leadership within the ruling coalition and disagreements over the IMF’s reported proposal for debt restructuring — a plan Sonko publicly rejected, triggering a sharp decline in Senegal’s international bond prices at the time.
