Once united in their commitment to keep the President from the High Council of the Judiciary—despite promising reforms—Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko have since turned their shared inaction into a spectacle of political reversal. Their alliance, forged on grand promises, now stands as a testament to unfulfilled pledges and unchecked power.
Together, they ignored calls for transparent leadership appointments, despite these measures being explicitly outlined in their own political agenda. The law on amnesty, which they vowed to repeal, remains untouched, its provisions unchanged. Even the political funds—allocated without oversight—were distributed without challenge, despite the existence of a reform requiring only a parliamentary majority, which they secured shortly after taking office.
Now, as the rift between Faye and Sonko widens, opportunists are seizing the moment to reframe their shared failures as political maneuvering. Yet this rupture, however dramatic, cannot obscure the deeper question: how did two leaders, once united in purpose, allow their promises to dissolve into inaction?
Accountability over political theater
The National Assembly stands as a pillar of Senegal’s democracy, yet it is being reduced to a stage for personal vendettas and staged confrontations. The real issue is not the breakdown of a partnership but the accountability of those who governed without delivering on their commitments.
International standards, including those set by the United Nations and the African Union, demand transparency in asset declarations—a requirement both leaders have yet to fully embrace. The political funds debate, often framed as a technicality, is in fact a litmus test for integrity. Instead of addressing it, the focus has shifted to manufactured conflicts, diverting attention from the core failures of governance.
Promises left unfulfilled
The reform of the High Council of the Judiciary was supposed to mark a new era of judicial independence. Yet, under their watch, the council remained unchanged, its composition and powers untouched. Leadership positions in key institutions were left vacant or filled without adherence to the transparency they once championed.
The amnesty law, a symbol of past concessions, was to be dismantled as a gesture of accountability. Today, it remains intact, its critics silenced by political convenience rather than reform. Meanwhile, the allocation of political funds proceeded without scrutiny, despite the existence of mechanisms to regulate them—mechanisms that required only the will to enforce them.
A call for genuine reform
Senegal deserves leadership that prioritizes substance over spectacle. The rupture between Faye and Sonko should not become an excuse for political whitewashing. Instead, it should serve as a reminder of the responsibilities they share in failing to deliver on their promises.
Thierno Bocoum
President, AGIR-LES LEADERS
