Senegal's president dissolves parliament

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has dissolved the country's parliament led by the opposition and called early elections to end the tension between the parliament and the government.

In a national speech, Faye said the snap election will be held on November 17 this year. The move has come six months after Faye was elected president while in the opposition camp.

He has said that the parliament, which is now led by the party he defeated in the election, has made it difficult for him to implement the "systemic changes" he promised during the campaign.

Faye has called on the voters to elect the candidates of his Senegalese Nationalists For Work, Ethics and Brotherhood (PASTEF) party so that he can have full power to govern.

The outgoing parliament, elected in 2022, was dominated by members of former President Macky Sall's Benno Bokk Yakaar (Unity in Hope) coalition.

The tension between the government and parliament worsened recently after the opposition MPs canceled the budget debate and threatened to submit a motion to criticize the government.

Opposition MPs have criticized Faye's move to dissolve parliament and claim that he has done so to avoid the submission of a motion to censure it.

 In a statement, the group claimed that President Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko are "using government departments to achieve their political interests."