Sonko back in the seat of power - Senegal’s former PM elected National Assembly speaker just days after getting fired

"Senegal’s National Assembly elected former prime minister Ousmane Sonko as its new speaker on Tuesday, following the shock resignation of El Malick Ndiaye. Footage shows parliamentary proceedings led by Ismaila Diallo, who announced Ndiaye’s resignation and opened the vote before outlining the procedure for electing the new speaker by secret ballot. “The President of the National Assembly is elected by a single-member ballot by an absolute majority of the votes cast,” Diallo said, before confirming Sonko as the candidate proposed by the PASTEF-Les Patriotes parliamentary group. He also paid tribute to outgoing speaker El Malick Ndiaye, praising his leadership and saying the chamber had been marked by “serenity, joy, and a true sense of belonging” during his tenure. “Under your leadership, the National Assembly has been transformed in your image,” Diallo said. “The National Assembly is dignified today. Be honoured, be thanked for it.” Sonko was elected after securing 132 votes out of 133 ballots cast, with no votes against and one abstention, prompting applause from lawmakers in the chamber. The vote followed a major political reshuffle after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister on Friday and dissolved his government following months of reported tensions within the executive. Faye appointed economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo, a former senior official at the Central Bank of West African States, as the new prime minister on Monday. Sonko responded to his dismissal in a social media post, writing: “Praise be to Allah. Tonight I will sleep light-hearted in the city of Keur Gorgui.” Tensions between Faye and Sonko had reportedly been building over Senegal’s economic policy, IMF negotiations and control of the ruling PASTEF party. Sonko had formed a political alliance with Faye ahead of the 2024 election, after he was barred from running over a defamation conviction he denied. Faye went on to defeat then-President Macky Sall, marking a major shift in Senegal’s political landscape."

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