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Senegal’s lawmakers defy president and elect ousted Sonko as speaker
Sonko won 132 votes and now gives PASTEF a stronger platform in parliament as legal experts and opposition figures question the move.
- On Tuesday, Senegal's National Assembly elected ousted Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as speaker in Dakar, receiving 132 votes with no opposition and one abstention just four days after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed him and dissolved the cabinet.
- The alliance between Faye and Sonko fractured over competing economic visions as Senegal faced a debt burden of 132 percent of GDP, with a $1.8 billion IMF programme suspended after authorities uncovered previously misreported debt figures.
- Pastef's commanding majority of 130 of the National Assembly's 165 seats ensured Sonko's victory despite opposition lawmakers boycotting the session, which opened at 9am with the former prime minister in attendance.
- Opposition leader Tall Sall denounced the appointment as an 'institutional coup' prepared under 'pressure that the majority wants to impose,' while lawmaker Abdou Mbow declared it 'a black day at the National Assembly.'
- Sonko's election positions him as a political counterweight ahead of the 2029 elections, with the once-barred presidential candidate remaining hugely popular and now controlling an assembly dominated by his party, threatening future confrontation with Faye.
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Associated Press News+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
Senegal’s lawmakers defy president and elect ousted Sonko as speaker
Senegal’s National Assembly has elected ousted Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as parliament speaker and defied President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who fired him days earlier.
·United States
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The former Prime Minister has now been elected by 132 votes out of 133 in a boycott session by the opposition, which heralds a period of political uncertainty, while the country is waiting for a new government.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources23
Leaning Left7Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution59% Left
Bias Distribution
- 59% of the sources lean Left
59% Left
L 59%
C 33%
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