by Nurat Uthman
Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Monday said he would remain head of the government rather than preside over the parliament, after his party’s landslide election win sparked questions over his political role.
The ruling Pastef party of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Sonko won 130 seats in the 165-seat national assembly in snap parliamentary elections on November 17.
The victory was one of the largest majorities ever won by a single party in the West African nation and triggered speculation over whether Sonko should step down as prime minister to lead the national assembly in the interests of institutional balance.
Some had argued that Sonko should preside over the parliament to avoid any possible conflicts that could arise in an executive where the president owed his position to the prime minister.
Highly influential Sonko played a pivotal role in propelling President Faye to victory in March, and has headed the government since it took office in April.
“I’m staying on at the prime minister’s office. I had come to submit my letter of resignation as an MP,” Sonko said at the national assembly, shortly before the new set of lawmakers were due to join the parliament.
“We have started work at the prime minister’s office. The president needs me by his side. We are continuing this work”, he added.
Pastef’s sweeping legislative victory hands Senegal’s new leaders the means to implement their ambitious reform agenda, as the country grapples with high inflation and widespread unemployment.
