Senegal: Ousmane Sonko greets PM Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô while maintaining his distance.

Elected on Tuesday, May 26, as President of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko publicly praised his successor at the Prime Ministry, Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô, in his inaugural speech, stating that “Pastef is not associated with this nomination decision” and acknowledging differences with the new head of government on monetary issues and public debt management.

“You will allow me, in the name of the Republic of Senegal, one and indivisible, and in the name of parliamentary representation, to extend my warm congratulations to Mr. Alhaminou Mohamed Lô, who was appointed Prime Minister yesterday,” Sonko stated from the podium. He paid tribute to the “colossal work” done by Lô in designing the Senegal 2050 framework, describing him as “a hard worker, a dedicated man.” However, Sonko added: “I must admit that we have had differences, particularly on the monetary issue, the debt issue, and other related topics.”

Regarding the appointment itself, Sonko made sure to mark an institutional distance from the presidency: “Our party is not associated with this decision. You cannot do Pastef without Pastef.” Nevertheless, he indicated that the party “remains open to responsible dialogue that sets aside egos to finish this term under the best conditions.”

An Economic Line in Tension Since 2024

The divergence mentioned by Sonko is not new. Since Faye and Sonko came to power in March 2024, two lines have coexisted within the Senegalese executive. According to several reliable sources cited by AFP, President Faye wanted to engage discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new aid program, given that Senegal’s public debt reached 132% of GDP. Sonko, on the other hand, advocated for a so-called sovereignist approach, favoring internal financing and keeping the conditionalities of international financial institutions at arm’s length. The suspension of the IMF program, following revelations about the hidden debt inherited from the Sall government, deprived Senegal of external funding since 2024.

Al Aminou Lô himself expressed his views on this matter in January 2026 during a broadcast on RTS. He then stated that the absence of an IMF program led to “a reduction in budget margins and the suspension of certain external funding,” while insisting that “true sovereignty lies in the ability to finance one’s own development.” A more pragmatic line than Sonko’s, but presented as complementary to the Senegal 2050 Agenda.

In his own appointment speech on Monday, Al Aminou Lô stated that this was “not a change in direction” but “a change in method in institutional coherence and government action, as desired by the head of state.”

Reactions within Pastef

Al Aminou Lô’s appointment has not garnered unanimous support within the ranks of Pastef. Deputy Guy Marius Sagna described the appointment as a “coup against Pastef,” relying on the new Prime Minister’s past at the BCEAO, an institution that the party had long criticized in its monetary sovereignty discourse. For commentators close to sovereignist circles, Al Aminou Lô’s profile — a former BCEAO executive known to favor orthodox financial approaches — would indicate a repositioning of power towards a line more compatible with the expectations of the IMF and international financial partners.

These tensions were noticeable as early as December 2025. On December 7, during the Day of Martyrs and Victims, Sonko publicly acknowledged his differences with Faye after several weeks of speculation about a possible dismissal. The dismissal on May 22, 2026, and the institutional configuration resulting from May 26 — with Sonko at the podium and Al Aminou Lô at the Prime Ministry — now place these economic and political divergences within a framework of parliamentary control explicitly claimed by the new President of the National Assembly.