There is a political crisis in the African country. The Prime Minister and the President are fighting.

Political tensions have escalated in Senegal. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has entered into an open dispute with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Prime Minister Sonko has stated that there is a serious authority problem in governing the country and accused President Faye of turning a blind eye to media and opposition attacks against him.

Prime Minister Sonko, speaking at a meeting organized by his party, PASTEF, made harsh remarks while President Faye was abroad. Criticizing Faye, who was abroad for a mini-summit organized by US President Donald Trump with five African countries, Sonko said, "If the President deems me no longer useful, I am ready to relinquish my position and return to my duties as a member of parliament."

Sonko also reacted to the Supreme Court's July 1st upholding of his sentence in the defamation case filed by then-Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang in May 2023. Expressing his anger at President Faye's failure to act on the matter, Sonko said, "If I were in his shoes, the process wouldn't have worked like this."

Prime Minister Sonko's statement came while both President Faye and Parliament Speaker El Malick Ndiaye were abroad. In statements that resonated widely with the Senegalese public, Sonko argued that the country was not experiencing an ordinary political crisis, but rather a serious power vacuum.

Following the decision approved by the Supreme Court, Sonko was stripped of his right to be elected, given a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of 200 million CFA (approximately 35,000 US dollars).

Ousmane Sonko was aiming to run in the presidential elections to be held in April 2024. However, when he was unable to run due to a prison sentence, he nominated Bassirou Diomaye Faye, whom he called his "companion," and whom he trusted most.

Sonko, who supported Faye throughout the election campaign, ran the campaign with the slogan, "Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye." President Faye won the election with 54.2 percent of the vote in the first round and appointed Sonko Prime Minister immediately after taking office.

However, political observers had predicted that Sonko, known as a charismatic and ambitious leader, would not be able to hold the more limited position of Prime Minister for long. The recent crisis has highlighted the deteriorating relationship between the two leaders.