Senegal president set to dissolve parliament

Senegal’s new president is set to dissolve the opposition-dominated parliament in the coming days and launch a vast anti-corruption campaign that could target dozens, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said Wednesday.

READ ALSO:Senegal court upholds journalist life sentence over 2018 massacre

Sonko was appointed as head of the government in April by his running mate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who swept to presidential victory in March on a promise of radical change.

Sonko was addressing prime ministerial staff on Wednesday as his government was threatened by a motion of censure tabled a day earlier by the coalition of former president Macky Sall.

The ex-president’s supporters still hold the majority in the national assembly, which was elected in 2022.

“I can assure you that there will be no motion of censure between now and (September) 12 and that on the 12th, please God, these people will have something else to do than be MPs,” Sonko said in a video posted on social media, amid expectation that parliament will be dissolved in the coming days.

Faye and Sonko need a parliamentary majority to implement the policies of change they promised on a platform of leftist Pan-Africanism and social justice.

The national assembly cannot be dissolved by the president until it has sat for at least two years.

According to press reports, Faye will be able to do that from September 12 — exactly 24 months after the parliament’s first post-election session.

Animosity with the opposition has hampered government action.

Sonko has so far not given a speech on general policy to parliament.

READ ALSO:Senegal seeks Europe’s help to fight jihadists in the Sahel

The prime minister said on Wednesday that the government intended to present “new public policy guidelines” this month for the period up to 2050 and for the coming five and 10 years.

“We will have zero tolerance” on corruption, Sonko said, naming rationalization and integrity as the main principles for public money use.

“The debate on accountability… will start now, this very week,” he said, with former leaders in the firing line.

“In the days to come, dozens of them will be held accountable,” he said, adding that the authorities had already prevented some people from leaving the country.

READ ALSO:Senegal suspends mining activities near Mali border