In Senegal, a confrontation is looming between the government and the National Assembly. A situation that threatens to affect the finance project for 2027 and the supplementary finance bill.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Ousmane Sonko, former Prime Minister and president of the Pastef party, took offense at the economic choices and the direction taken by the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. He thus called for a vote against the finance law, as he believes the country has deviated from the path charted by his party within the framework of the project conceived before the presidential election of 2024.
An appeal that could have a favorable outcome, as the National Assembly is majority-dominated by his party, Pastef. Ousmane Sonko believes that fiscal balances are increasingly fragile due to unpopular and unproductive choices.
Another observation made by Ousmane Sonko is that the Senegal 2050 National Transformation Agenda is no longer aligned with the current program, particularly in the supplementary finance law. In his statement, Ousmane Sonko also addressed the relations between Senegal and the International Monetary Fund (FMI).
According to him, Senegal must not advance toward this partnership blindly, or rely exclusively on this partner. "Subsidies, particularly those for petroleum products, must be maintained.
Without them, the country's situation would have been complicated. This finance law must not be voted for, because approving it would make us accomplices to the difficulties that will befall the population," said Ousmane Sonko.
With this statement, a crisis is looming between the Government and the National Assembly just days before the start of sessions devoted to the examination and voting of the budgets of the various ministerial departments. A situation that is fueling uncertainty and concerns regarding the optimal functioning of institutions.
This position taken by Ousmane Sonko also confirms the political separation from his former party comrade, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, whom he had designated as the candidate for the presidential election of March 2024. A ballot won in the first round by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, ahead of Macky Sall's candidate, Amadou Bâ.
Subsequently appointed Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko was dismissed after two years at the head of the Government, in favor of Mohamed Al Aminou Lô. He is today the president of the National Assembly supported by a parliamentary majority, even though all members of Pastef have been ejected from the Government and from key positions in agencies and directorates-general.
Today, the Senegalese political ecosystem is marked by a duality; two parties are confronting each other, strengthening themselves, and displaying their ambitions for the presidential election of 2029. These are Bassirou Diomaye Faye's Kiiray and Ousmane Sonko's Pastef.
Published on 20/10/26 08:35 Mouhamadou Dieng