Senegal entered a fresh chapter in its political landscape on May 22, 2026, when President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced the dismissal of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. The decision capped a day of escalating tensions between the country’s top two executive leaders, culminating in a decisive break in their working relationship.
The move followed a series of public disagreements and behind-the-scenes power struggles that had intensified in the preceding weeks. Just hours before his removal, Ousmane Sonko had taken steps that further strained the fragile alliance between the presidency and the prime minister’s office.