• DISPATCHES
• SENEGAL

Diomaye Faye goes back to the polls to end parliamentary impasse

Just six months after sweeping to power, the popular president is hoping that snap elections will give him a parliamentary majority

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is hoping to cash in on his government’s popularity and claim a parliamentary majority after announcing snap elections for 17 November in a bid to end a stand-off with parliament over his government’s budget and the status of his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko (AC Vol 65 No 17, Faye mulls a snap parliamentary poll).

Faye’s Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité (Pastef) holds just 26 of the 165 seats in parliament, with a further 30 held by fellow members of the Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW) alliance.

Calling the election, six months after Faye swept to the presidency, is a gamble. Should Pastef fail to at least become the largest party that would significantly weaken his mandate.

However, most analysts believe that Pastef should be able to transform the 54% of the vote that carried Faye to power in March into a parliamentary majority (AC Vol 65 No 7, Faye's victory shakes up the region).

The election became increasingly likely after Sonko refused to give a speech to parliament setting out the government’s legislative agenda within the official three month deadline of Faye taking power. In response, deputies from the Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) opposition coalition cancelled a debate on the Faye government’s budget.

Faye appears to have outmanoeuvred BBY, led by former president Macky Sall, who had said they were working on draft legislation aimed at preventing the president from being able to dissolve parliament. By beating them to the punch he will be able to accuse the BBY coalition of blocking his agenda. The fragmentation of Sall’s BBY coalition should also boost Pastef’s chances.

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