Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government in a surprise move that followed months of growing tensions between the former political allies, deepening the country’s political crisis.

The decision was announced late Friday, May 22, 2026, through a presidential decree read on state television by government secretary-general and presidential aide Oumar Samba Ba.

The decree stated that President Faye had terminated the duties of Ousmane Sonko, as well as those of all ministers and secretaries of state, automatically leading to the dissolution of the government.

The political split is particularly striking given the close alliance between the two men, who had jointly opposed the former administration and were both prosecuted and imprisoned during that struggle.

Sonko was appointed prime minister in April 2024, only hours after Faye was sworn in as president.

Faye himself had been nominated from prison as an alternative candidate after Sonko was barred from the presidential race following a defamation conviction upheld by the Supreme Court.