Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Monday appointed Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo as the African nation’s new prime minister.  

Lo is replacing Ousmane Sonko, who was sacked on Friday, after months of simmering tensions between him and the president.

The sacking led to the resignation of all the members of the government and its dissolution.

Lo, who will now have to form a new government, previously served as head of the Senegal branch of the Central Bank ​of West African States. He also served as state minister to the president and secretary-general of Sonko’s government.

Lo knows “the inner workings of the economy and finance,” a presidential decree on announcing his appointment said.

A crippling debt crisis

After the appointment, the new prime minister appeared on state television and referred to the country’s “difficult financial situation.”

“We must all be aware of the state of emergency our country currently finds itself in. In particular, the state of public finances and its impact on the economy,” the new premier said. “Senegal is a safe and reliable country and intends to remain so.”

Senegal has been struggling with a massive debt burden amounting to 132% of GDP.

Following the discovery of misreported debt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) froze a $1.8 billion loan to the country. Faye and Sonko had openly disagreed on the negotiations for a revival of the program with the IMF.

From allies to rivals

The two men were former allies from the party known as Pastef, an acronym from its French name, Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Éthique et la Fraternité (“African Patriots for Work, Ethics and Brotherhood”).

Sonko heads the party.

But he was barred from running for president in 2024 after a defamation conviction was upheld by Senegal’s supreme court and the Constitutional Court dismissed his candidacy.

Following the ruling, Faye ran instead of Sonko, and subsequently appointed Sonko as prime minister.

Sonko to become parliament speaker?

Pastef dominates the ​National Assembly controlling 130 deputies out of 165.

On Sunday, Parliament Speaker El Malick Ndiaye, a close Sonko ally, stepped down from his post. The move cleared the way for Sonko to become head of Parliament, which would allow him to challenge the president’s authority.

MPs are scheduled to vote on Tuesday morning on the “reinstatement of the deputy Ousmane Sonko” and to elect the next president of the National Assembly, according to an official document published late Sunday.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah