Sénégal’s political future: ousmane sonko’s assembly leadership and the cohabitation challenge

A significant question hangs over Sénégal’s political landscape: how will President Diomaye Faye effectively govern if faced with a potentially adversarial National Assembly? This query comes to the forefront following the election of his political rival, Ousmane Sonko, as the Assembly’s Speaker on Tuesday morning. Sonko, while committing to avoid an “institutional crisis,” made it clear that the legislative body “would not merely serve as a rubber stamp.” This situation raises immediate speculation about the possibility of the Assembly’s dissolution and the call for early legislative elections. Providing expert analysis on these unfolding developments is Mamadou Lamine Sarr, a political science lecturer at the Cheikh Hamidou Kane Digital University of Dakar.