Senegal’s president announced plans to set up his own party, further deepening a rift at the top of the country’s political system after he fired his prime minister.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye gathered more than 300 mayors on Friday and asked his senior adviser to establish a task force for the new party, saying he was looking for “more organic unity” among Senegal’s leadership.
The move follows weeks of political turbulence. In May, Faye fired prime minister Ousmane Sonko, who is now the speaker of parliament and retains enormous influence; the majority of parliamentary seats are occupied by members of Sonko’s Pastef party. Last week, lawmakers voted to water down the president’s powers, including barring him from leading a political party, a decision that will now go to a national referendum.
Faye and Sonko originally ran on the same ticket in the 2024 elections. But the allies-turned-foes have split over several issues, mainly how to handle billions of dollars of undeclared debt from the previous government, a discovery that prompted the IMF to suspend its activities in Senegal.