The political chessboard in Dakar just got a new queen. Ousmane Sonko, the firebrand opposition leader and former prime minister ousted by President Macky Sall, has been elected Speaker of the National Assembly. It is a stunning reversal. A direct challenge to the palace.
Sonko’s allies secured the speakership with 120 votes against 78 for the ruling party candidate. The numbers tell a story. Sonko’s camp now controls the levers of parliamentary procedure. Budgets. Appointments. The power to summon ministers. They will use it.
Let’s be clear. This is not a ceremonial post. In Senegal, the Speaker sets the legislative agenda. They can block government business. They can launch inquiries. They can make life hell for the executive. Sonko knows this. He played the long game.
Remember his ousting? Sall sacked him in 2022 after a falling out. Sonko then built a new coalition, the Yewwi Askan Wi (Liberate the People). It swept local elections. Then legislative polls. Now the presidency looks isolated. Sall’s second term is already lame duck. He cannot run again in 2024. But he wanted to control the narrative. This shatters that.
Sources inside the assembly tell me Sonko’s first move will be to repeal the controversial electoral law changes pushed by Sall last year. That law requires presidential candidates to secure signatures from 0.8% of registered voters across at least seven regions. It was designed to keep Sonko off the ballot. Now the man who writes the rules can rewrite them.
But there is a wider game. Sonko wants to force a snap election. He believes he can win. The president’s coalition is fracturing. Backbenchers are defecting. The economy is sluggish. Sonko’s populist message on sovereignty and anti-corruption resonates with the youth. The Speaker’s gavel gives him a platform.
The presidency’s response? Sullen silence. They know a parliamentary confrontation is coming. A budget showdown. A no-confidence vote. The question is whether Sonko can hold his coalition together. Factions exist. Personal ambitions. But for now, the opposition smells blood.
Downing Street should watch this. Senegal is a linchpin in the Sahel. Stable. Democratic. A partner in the fight against jihadism. If Sonko destabilises the government, Western allies will worry. But they cannot intervene. The internal dynamics are complex.
The bottom line: Sonko is no longer a marginal figure. He is the man with the microphone. And he plans to use it. The president’s circle is rattled. They hoped Sonko would fade. Instead, he is centre stage.
One senior opposition MP put it to me bluntly: “The king is naked. We have the clothes now.” The game has changed.
