New Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, making his acceptance speech in Dakar last evening

Abubakar Hashim

Newly sworn-in President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal has named his long-time ally in the political struggle, Ousmane Sonko, 48, as the new Prime Minister.

They campaigned with the slogan, “Diomaye is Sonko”, it is, therefore, not a surprise that Sonko now heads the government and will name incoming ministers, heads of agencies and ambassadors.

Sonko is a firebrand leftist politician who emerged 3rd in the 2019 elections when outgone President Macky Sall won a 2nd term of five years.

Sonko was at the centre of a two-year standoff with the state that triggered deadly protests, leading to widespread unrest.

He was later charged with defamation and convicted. He was later barred from contesting the just concluded 24 March elections, with his name and symbol not on the ballot.

President Faye was also imprisoned by Sall for trumped-up charges but was not barred from contesting elections.

They were both released from detention less than two weeks before the elections.

In a swift campaign strategy, Sonko stretched his full support to Faye, on the platform of the Pastef Party, using the campaign slogan: “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”. The strategy was a huge success, in producing Faye as a first-round winner in the just concluded elections.

With Sonko now as Prime Minister, it means Faye’s government is headed by Sonko, who, definitely, will be calling the shots.

The tasks before the new government are gigantic. High inflation and unemployment, dwindling fortunes from the once booming fishing business, mass illicit migration to Europe resulting in the deaths of many Senegalese on the high seas and a fast-dissipating tourism industry.

Both Prime Minister Sonko and President Faye, have a 5-year mandate to bail out the country from the current crisis.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko is politically more experienced than President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The latter is a beneficiary of the former and totally needs his support and acquiescence to transform Senegal, in accordance with their campaign manifesto.

How the strategy will work with Sonko as the new Prime Minister, who will, virtually, hand-pick the cabinet soon, remains a huge challenge as the tasks are enormous.

The only major achievement of outgone President Sall is infrastructure. He built roads, bridges, airports and railways. But the high costs of living in the country form the bulk of expectations from the people.

*Abubakar Hashim is West Africa Bureau Chief of TheNEWS Magazine