The President of Senegal, Bassirou Faye, launched a new party on Monday, formalising his break from the former Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, and the PASTEF party.
Mr Faye unveiled his party, Kiiraay, also known as the Republican Patriots party, at a gathering in the capital, Dakar, last week.
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Kiiraay means “shield” in the local Wolof language. At the gathering on Saturday, the president described the party as “the majority party in this country.”
Mr Faye and Mr Sonko were once the twin faces of Senegal’s anti-establishment movement. Mr Sonko also played a key role in Mr Faye’s election as president.
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However, the fallout between the two came to light after Mr Faye fired Mr Sonko as Prime Minister in May and replaced him with Ahmadu Lo, an economist and former banker at the Central Bank of West African States.
PREMIUM TIMES also reported that Mr Sonko pulled the PASTEF party out of the government, after which the president appointed new cabinet members.
Mr Sonko, on the other hand, was elected speaker of the parliament four days after his dismissal. This paper reported his election, which came hours after he was reinstated as a lawmaker and installed as the deputy speaker.
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The friction originally stems from an increasingly visible power struggle for control of the government, as well as disagreements over economic policy and IMF negotiations.
READ ALSO: Senegal Presidential Election: Ex-PM Idrissa Seck gains support from Vanguard Africa
Last month, a protest broke out in Dakar over lawmakers’ attempt to propose a constitutional amendment. The bill, in part, seeks to prohibit a sitting president from serving as leader of a political party.
Pastef, having a majority of seats, had pushed for the amendment. But a coalition supporting Mr Faye demanded withdrawal of the bill.
Critics of the proposed reforms have accused Mr Sonko of attempting to consolidate power.
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