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DAKAR, September 17 (Reuters) – Senegalese President Macky Sall reinstated the post of prime minister on Saturday, nominating a former economy minister to the post two months after a tense general election in which Sall’s ruling coalition lost its comfortable majority.
Amadou Ba, a 61-year-old tax professional who has also served as foreign minister, has been appointed as the West African country’s prime minister, the presidency said in a statement.
Ba’s appointment restores the prime minister’s position in the West African country following his ouster in April 2019.
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“Among the key priorities the president has outlined are improving household purchasing power, curbing inflation, security, housing, job training, employment and entrepreneurship,” Ba said on national television after meeting with Sall on Saturday.
The full government is due to be appointed later on Saturday.
Earlier this week, Senegalese security forces were called in to secure a parliamentary voting process and hold back rampaging opposition MPs trying to disrupt the election of a new National Assembly president. The assembly met for the first time since the July election.
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Sall came to power in 2012 after ousting longtime President Abdoulaye Wade. He was re-elected in 2019 on the promise of large-scale infrastructure build-out as the country is set to start producing oil and natural gas next year.
Much of his second term, however, was marked by economic hardship — fueled in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global fallout surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Political tensions have simmered over Sall’s refusal to publicly rule out a third-term presidential bid in 2024.
Violent protests erupted in Senegal last year when Ousmane Sonko, Sall’s main opponent who finished third in the 2019 presidential election, was arrested on rape allegations which he denied.
Sonko was released, but many protesters saw his arrest as an attempt by Sall to remove a prominent rival and clear his path to a third term.
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Reporting by Diadie Ba and Ngouda Dione, Additional reporting by Cooper Inveen Writing by Bate Felix Editing by Louise Heavens and Helen Popper
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