DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament on Thursday, clearing the way for early parliamentary elections six months after he was elected on an anti-establishment platform.
The new elections must be held within the next 90 days, according to the country’s constitution. Analysts say Faye’s political party, PASTEF, has a strong chance of winning a majority, given its popularity and margin of victory in the presidential election.
Faye, 44, won the vote in April to become Africa’s youngest elected leader, less than two weeks after being released from prison.
His rise reflects widespread frustration among Senegal’s youth about the direction the country is taking. That’s a sentiment that’s prevalent across Africa, where the country has the world’s youngest population and some leaders are accused of clinging to power for decades.
During the presidential campaign, he promised widespread reforms to improve the living standards of ordinary Senegalese, including fighting corruption, reviewing fishing licenses for foreign companies and securing a greater share of the country’s natural resources for the population. He was elected with 54% of the vote.
But six months later, these promises have still not been fulfilled.
Faye and Ousmane Sonko, the country’s prime minister and a popular opposition figure who helped Faye win, have blamed parliament. Their political party, PASTEF, lacks a majority in the assembly, which Faye says has prevented him from implementing promised reforms.
In June, the Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition, led by former President Macky Sall, canceled a budget debate over a disagreement over whether Sonko was required to publish a policy plan for his government. Sonko argued that he did not have to do so.
The tensions between the government and parliament are “unprecedented,” Alioune Tine, founder of think tank Afrikajom, told The Associated Press. “It is all the result of the dysfunctions of the electoral process of the 2024 presidential election,” Tine said.
Faye’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is not without risks, Gilles Yabi, a political analyst and founder of think tank WATHI, told AP.
The assembly has until the end of December to vote on next year’s budget, but new parliamentary elections could make it difficult to meet this deadline.
The presidential election in April tested Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in West Africa, a region shocked by coups in recent years and coup attempts.
Both Faye and Sonko were released from prison less than two weeks before the vote under a political amnesty announced by outgoing President Macky Sall. Their arrests had sparked months of protests and concerns that Sall would seek a third term despite term limits. Human rights groups said dozens of people were killed and about 1,000 were jailed.
More than 60% of Senegalese are under 25 and 90% work in informal jobs. Senegal has been hit by skyrocketing inflation in recent years, making it difficult for them to make ends meet.
The country is also the largest source of illegal migration to Europe, with thousands of people leaving each year on rickety, artisanal fishing boats in search of economic opportunities.
Thursday’s announcement came days after a similar boat carrying nearly 90 people capsized, killing at least 39.
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Associated Press journalists Mark Banchereau, Babacar Dione and Wilson McMakin in Dakar contributed to this report.
