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Senegal’s prime minister, Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo, on Monday urged the opposition not to paralyse the heavily indebted West African country by blocking a revised draft budget for 2026 in parliament.
“You cannot bring a country to a standstill,” Mohamed Lo told AFP in an interview, again urging the powerful Pastef party to return to “dialogue”.
Lo also hinted that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye would use “all the tools” at his disposal to avoid a shutdown.
Any hold-up would imperil the country’s ability to get a grip on its vast public-sector debt, which was estimated at 132 percent of GDP at the end of 2024.
Pastef, which holds an overwhelming majority in parliament, has already rejected the budget in committee, signalling its near-certain failure to pass Senegal’s National Assembly on Tuesday.
The pan-African party’s charismatic leader, Ousmane Sonko, who is engaged in a dramatic political feud with President Faye, has already said his party would not accept the 2026 revised finance bill, nor a 2027 draft budget.
“Later (Monday), the necessary steps will be taken in response to the concerns that have been raised with us, and, together with the President of the Republic, we will ensure that these concerns are discussed with the Pastef group,” Lo told AFP.
In the interview, Lo pointed to the fact that “Senegal has a presidential system”, which involves “constitutional provisions so that if the vote is delayed, the President of the Republic may use the tools at his disposal.
“This could involve making use of every measure the Constitution affords the President of the Republic to prevent a shutdown,” Lo added.
Among the measures Faye could to resort to are executive orders and extending the budget allocations already voted through.
In September, the International Monetary Fund took a first step towards striking an agreement with the IMF on a new 36-month, $2.2 billion debt programme aimed at stabilising the country’s public finances.
But the IMF has yet to announce executive board approval and the bailout is subject to certain conditions.
Sonko, a former mentor to President Faye, was once Senegal’s prime minister himself.
But he was fired by Faye in May after the two one-time allies fell out, in part over how to tackle the country’s massive debt.
