Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on May 22, 2026, finalizing a political rift that had been growing for months. Internal rivalries, governance disputes, economic reform disagreements, and struggles over power control have shattered the alliance that once symbolized a break from Macky Sall’s era. In this analysis, political expert Fatimata Wane and Babacar Ndiaye, research director at the WATHI think tank, examine the roots and implications of this major crisis at Senegal’s highest political levels.