Sénégal
The head of Sénégal’s National Assembly and former prime minister Ousmane Sonko was overwhelmingly re-elected on Saturday as leader of his party, Pastef, a political victory that quickly served as a warning to his political adversaries amid the ongoing political crisis in Sénégal.
Delegates from national branches and the diaspora gathered in Diamniadio, near Dakar, for the party’s first congress.
At the helm of Pastef since its founding in 2014, Ousmane Sonko retains his post for a fresh six-year term.
“I am aware of the weight of this responsibility because Pastef is not an ordinary party in the Senegalese landscape,” he stated from the podium after his election.
“Revolutions can be diverted, absorbed, or emptied of their content if they do not adopt a clear doctrine or an organisation capable of anchoring change over the long term. And that is why this congress is historic, two years after we acceded to the highest responsibilities,” he added.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the presidency with Pastef’s support in 2024, after Ousmane Sonko was barred from the presidential race.
Following months of tensions, Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Ousmane Sonko as prime minister on 22 May last.
Sonko was elected president of the National Assembly a few days later.
Addressing Pastef delegates, Ousmane Sonko warned against attempts to “sabotage” the political project championed by his party.
“No project to sabotage this revolution will succeed because the people, standing alongside Pastef, will provide the necessary guarantees so that we can finally liberate our country,” he cautioned.
The Pastef leadership boycotted the government appointed on Monday by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, despite the inclusion of some members of Ousmane Sonko’s party in the new ministerial list.
Pastef holds 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly and can file a motion of censure at any time to topple the government.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, for his part, can form a new government after a censure and will be able to dissolve the National Assembly from November 2026.