Senegal president names government, boycotted by ally-turned-rival

Ousted PM says his party, which holds the parliamentary majority, will not participate in new government.Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has announced a new government featuring several members and allies of a party led by sacked prime minister and estranged ally Ousmane Sonko, who has pledged his group would not join it.Faye’s announcement came on Monday during a live television broadcast, less than two weeks after he fired Sonko, his former mentor, and dismissed the cabinet following disagreements, including over the troubled economy.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Senegal’s President Faye sacks PM Sonko and dissolves governmentlist 2 of 4Senegal parliament speaker steps down as political crisis worsenslist 3 of 4Senegal lawmakers elect ousted PM Sonko as new parliament speakerlist 4 of 4Senegal’s president on reforms, snap election and pan-Africanismend of listA popular figure, Sonko was promptly elected speaker of parliament by allies in a vote boycotted by the opposition, deepening the political crisis in the West African country.Sonko said in a post on X that he met on Monday with Faye and that “points of disagreement” emerged on the future role of the Pastef party.Therefore, Pastef “will not participate in the next government and will not be represented by any ministers”, Sonko said. “We wish the new team every success.”Sonko remains the undisputed leader of Pastef, the party he founded in 2014 – to which Faye also belongs – and which controls 130 of the 165 seats in Senegal’s only legislative body.New PM announcedOn Monday, Faye named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo as prime minister, saying the new appointee had the expertise to steer Senegal out of its crippling debt.Lo on Monday read out a list of 30 new ministers, including several Pastef members, but notable for the absence of several of its senior figures who had been in the previous government.Sonko said his party would not join the cabinet after disagreeing about it with Faye during a “long conversation” on Monday.