Senegal speaker resigns as Sonko return vote deepens PASTEF rift

El Malick Ndiaye’s resignation has turned Senegal’s ruling coalition into a test of discipline, exposing whether President Bassirou Diomaye Faye can contain a power struggle around Ousmane Sonko without weakening his reform agenda. Ndiaye stepped down on Sunday, May 25, saying it was a personal decision guided by the “higher interest of the nation” and institutional stability.

The timing sharpened the stakes. Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister on Friday, May 23, and dissolved the government, setting up a National Assembly session for Tuesday, May 27, to vote on reinstating Sonko as a lawmaker and to elect a new speaker. Some political observers have read Ndiaye’s departure as a way to clear the path for Sonko to take his place at the helm of parliament.

The maneuver lands inside a party that still holds the numerical advantage to make it happen. PASTEF won 130 of the 165 seats in Senegal’s National Assembly in the November 17, 2024 legislative elections, a commanding majority that could deliver the next speaker and shape the balance of power inside the state. But that same dominance is now feeding a rupture between party politics and government authority, with the parliamentary majority and the executive no longer moving in lockstep.

The struggle matters because Faye and Sonko swept to power together in 2024, but their roles have shifted sharply since then. Sonko became one of Senegal’s most popular opposition figures before being barred from the 2024 presidential race because of a defamation conviction. Faye went on to win the presidency with 54% of the vote, giving the pair a shared mandate that is now being tested by the demands of governing.

The fallout is not only political. Senegal is carrying public debt reported at 132% of GDP, and the International Monetary Fund froze a $1.8 billion lending programme after misreported debt hidden by the previous government was uncovered. Finance Minister Cheikh Diba said on Friday that talks with the IMF were expected to resume in the second week of June, with a goal of agreeing on key points by June 30.

Opposition figures are already casting the parliamentary plan as a constitutional breach. Aissata Tall Sall denounced it as an “institutional coup,” arguing that Sonko would need to resign as prime minister before returning to parliament, while critics say the move would be illegal because he has never been a member of parliament.

For Faye, the coming days will show whether Senegal’s new leadership can preserve institutional stability while managing a very public rivalry at the top of the ruling party. If PASTEF uses its majority to restore Sonko to parliament and install a new speaker, it would confirm Sonko’s continued hold over the movement. If the effort stalls, it would signal that the party’s political machine can no longer automatically dictate the state’s direction.