Ousmane Sonko, president of Senegal’s National Assembly and former prime minister, was overwhelmingly re-elected as leader of his party, Pastef, on Saturday. This political victory immediately became a warning to his opponents amid the ongoing political crisis in Senegal.
Delegates from national chapters and the diaspora gathered in Diamniadio, near Dakar, for the party’s first congress.
At the helm of Pastef since its founding in 2014, Sonko retains his position for a new six-year term.
“I am aware of the weight of this responsibility because Pastef is no ordinary party in Senegal’s political landscape,” he said from the podium after his election.
“Revolutions can be hijacked, absorbed, or emptied of meaning if they lack a clear doctrine or an organization capable of sustaining change over time. That is why this congress is historic, two years after we rose to the highest responsibilities,” he added.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the presidency with Pastef’s support in 2024, after Sonko was barred from running in the presidential election.
After months of tensions, Faye dismissed Sonko from his post as prime minister on May 22.
Days later, Sonko was elected president of the National Assembly.
Speaking before Pastef delegates, Sonko warned against attempts to sabotage the political project championed by his party.
“No plan 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.
Pastef’s leadership has boycotted the government appointed on Monday by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, despite the inclusion of some Pastef members in the new ministerial lineup.
Pastef holds 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly and could file a no-confidence motion at any time to topple the government.
For his part, Bassirou Diomaye Faye can form a new government after a censure and will be able to dissolve the National Assembly starting in November 2026.
