The Senegal parliament has elected Ousmane Sonko as the speaker of the National Assembly in a dramatic political comeback that will most likely deepen the power struggle at the top of Senegal’s ruling movement.
He was elected four days after President Bassirou Faye fired him as prime minister and only a few hours after his official reinstatement as a lawmaker.
Mr Sonko, who was a major opposition figure under Macky Sall’s administration, returned to the parliament on Tuesday. He was first reinstated as a lawmaker, then installed as the deputy speaker, and eventually elected the speaker of the assembly.
Mr Sonko was elected president of the parliament with 132 votes cast in his favour. This victory is made possible by the ruling Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’éthique et la Fraternité (PASTEF) party’s overwhelming parliamentary majority.
The former prime minister has a strong influence within the party and remains one of the most powerful figures in Senegalese politics.
