Ousmane Sonko has made a powerful comeback to parliament, securing the position with the full backing of Pastef members, despite growing disagreements with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who hails from the same party.

The new head of the National Assembly received a lengthy ovation from his party’s deputies, which command a strong majority with 130 out of 165 seats. He succeeds El Malick Ndiaye, who stepped down from the role on Sunday.

Outside Ousmane Sonko’s residence in Cité Keur Gorgui, a supporter from the Pastef-Les Patriotes party was heard shouting “Sonkoooo!” in a clear show of support for his leader.

Nourdine Diallo expressed his devastation over the political split, as he was a firm believer in the Diomaye-Sonko partnership he had championed throughout the electoral campaign in Sénégal.

“It hurt us very, very badly to learn that the president dismissed the Prime Minister. We campaigned on the slogan ‘Diomaye is Sonko – Sonko is Diomaye’. That slogan was truly real, not just words. We lived it and we told the Senegalese people that Diomaye and Sonko are brothers, that they share fraternal, party, and institutional bonds.”

Institutional showdown

The dismissal of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko occurred shortly after he appeared before the National Assembly for a routine government question-and-answer session. During this session, Ousmane Sonko had openly questioned certain decisions made by President Diomaye Faye.

An institutional power struggle is now taking shape. A session of the National Assembly is scheduled for this Tuesday (26.05.26) to decide on Ousmane Sonko’s reinstatement as a deputy, a mandate he had suspended to serve as Prime Minister.

The Assembly’s agenda will also address a second critical issue: the election of a new president to replace the outgoing El Hadj Malick Ndiaye. A staunch loyalist of Sonko, El Hadj Malick Ndiaye resigned his post on Sunday (24.05.26), soon after his champion was dismissed. Ousmane Sonko now appears highly likely to take the speaker’s chair, which would make him the second most powerful figure in the state.

According to political analyst Malao Kanté, this development is set to trigger a direct confrontation between the two former allies.

“We can consider Ousmane Sonko as the new face of the opposition. The difference is that this opposition now holds the parliamentary majority, which is not without risk. Firstly, there’s a risk of a no-confidence motion against the next Prime Minister. What is clear is that this could place the country in a rather complicated situation and obstruct the proper functioning of the state.”

Opposition contests the reinstatement procedure

In light of this situation, Adama Fall, a political leader within Pastef-Les Patriotes, hopes that the nation’s interests will take precedence over the conflict between Diomaye and Sonko.

“As an African, this is customary in our history. We saw Blaise Compaoré and Thomas Sankara, we saw Patrice Lumumba, and even in Sénégal with Mamadou Dia and Senghor. Today, we are reliving history, but the difference is that this is not the same generation as Mamadou Dia’s. We are a conscious generation, and history will not repeat itself in that way; it will repeat in a positive way.”

A shockwave is reverberating through Pastef. In a display of solidarity, several executives and administrative officials close to Ousmane Sonko have chosen to resign from their positions.

The potential reinstatement of Ousmane Sonko in parliament, where his party holds a significant majority, follows the resignation of Assembly President El Hadji Malick Ndiaye on Sunday. The opposition parliamentary group, Takuu Walu, responded by holding a press conference on Monday (25.05.26). Aïssata Tall Sall and her colleagues have rejected Malick Ndiaye’s resignation letter, deeming it invalid. The opposition leader argued that he violated the National Assembly’s internal rules.

Furthermore, Aïssata Tall Sall urged Bassirou Diomaye Faye to refer the matter of Ousmane Sonko’s reinstatement to the Constitutional Council, denouncing it as a constitutional coup. She predicted that if Bassirou Diomaye Faye fails to act, Ousmane Sonko will next target his presidential seat.

In response to these events, Bassirou Diomaye Faye appointed a new Prime Minister overnight to replace Ousmane Sonko. The new appointee is Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô, a banker and former official at the BCEAO. He previously served as Minister of State and Minister to the Presidency. The new Prime Minister stated that his country is at a turning point and called for national mobilization.