Senegal's president on Friday sacked Prime Minister Aminata Toure, who has only been in power since September, less than a week after her ruling party was beaten in local elections. "Ms Aminata Toure's functions have been terminated," said a decree signed by President Macky Sall, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. An official at the president's office said that the resignation of the prime minister "means that the government has been dissolved".
Toure, who is 51, is the head of the Alliance for the Republic and was named prime minister last year to replace incumbent Abdoul Mbaye. Her departure comes less than a week after preliminary results from the June 29 local elections showed defeats for the APR in Dakar and a number of key cities across the country. Official results are still being awaited. Many members of the government who were running in the local polls were beaten in their strongholds - a blow for the APR, which controlled only a few towns before the election and was hoping to reinforce its local support bases. More than 5.3 million people were eligible to vote for more than 2,700 councillors across the country.
"Since her defeat by Khalifa Sall, (she) has been in the hot seat," RTS national radio commented. However, the governing "Benno Bokk Yaakaar" (Together With The Same Hope) coalition reportedly won in more than 70 percent of the country's constituencies. Toure has degrees in economy and management from universities in Senegal, France and the United States and worked for the United Nations in several countries.
She was the second woman prime minister in Senegal after Madior Boye, who headed the government between March 2001 and November 2002. In her government policy statement in October, Toure promised to meet social demands and restart the country's economy.
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