Senegal's Sonko re-elected Pastef leader as rift with President Faye deepens political crisis

A party congress amid open conflict

Ousmane Sonko was re-elected president of the Pan-African Pastef party at its first national congress since its founding in 2014. The vote, held Saturday evening in Diamniadio near Dakar, was unanimous: 589 delegates backed Sonko for a six-year term, according to RFI. Blick.ch reported 583 delegates from national and diaspora sections. Sonko's candidacy was the only one accepted by the party, europa press noted.

The congress came just over two weeks after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister on 22 May. Sonko subsequently won election as speaker of the National Assembly, a post with significant influence over the government. The split reflects the fragility of the political alliance that brought Faye to power in 2024, when Sonko, barred from standing himself, anointed Faye to run in his place.

Now Pastef charts its own path with its Guide of the revolution, without the current president of the republic. Because we no longer speak the same language.

The 2029 horizon

Sonko's re-election was framed explicitly around the next presidential election. Supporters at the congress spoke of carrying the same objective from 2019 and 2024 into 2029: putting Sonko at the head of the country. The party did not resolve the status of ministers who remained in the new government despite a boycott call, nor that of President Faye, who remains an honorary member of Pastef despite the rupture with his former mentor.

Deputy Bakary Diedhiou told RFI that those who stayed in government had effectively self-excluded: "The party issued a statement saying all those former ministers must leave the government, and whoever remains does so in their own name, not in the name of Pastef." Sonko is expected to hold a popular investiture rally at the Diamniadio Arena on Sunday afternoon.

A government that could fall

Pastef holds 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly. Sonko stated on 2 June that the party could bring down the government within 72 hours but would not do so. "If Pastef wants, in 72 hours, this government can fall. But we will not censure it. We will accompany them," he said, according to Blick.ch.

The party can table a censure motion at any time or challenge the government during the presentation of its programme, though no date has been set for that. President Faye, however, retains options: he can form a new government after a censure and dissolve the National Assembly starting in November 2026, two years after its installation. He could also invoke Article 52 of the constitution to govern by ordinance for three months without parliamentary approval.

Economic pressure and the IMF

Senegal is heavily indebted and navigating negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over a new loan programme. The IMF suspended a $1.8 billion credit facility in 2024 after the discovery of billions of dollars in previously undisclosed liabilities left by the previous administration, europa press reported. Sonko, a fierce critic of the Fund, has at times refused to countenance debt restructuring, a harder line than the more moderate stance taken by Faye and the new prime minister, banker Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô.

If Pastef wants, in 72 hours, this government can fall. But we will not censure it. We will accompany them.

The political instability is weighing on investor confidence as the country faces billions of dollars in previously hidden debt. The new government formed on 2 June is boycotted by Pastef but includes allied parties and dissident members of the party.