Ousmane Sonko, president of Senegal’s National Assembly and former prime minister, secured a decisive re-election as head of the Pastef party on Saturday. The victory quickly turned into a stern warning directed at his political rivals, unfolding against a backdrop of ongoing political crisis in the country.
Delegates from national chapters and the diaspora gathered in Diamniadio, near Dakar, for the party’s first congress since its founding.
Sonko, who has led Pastef since its creation in 2014, will now serve another six-year term at the helm.
“I fully grasp the weight of this responsibility because Pastef is no ordinary party in Senegal’s political landscape,” he told the assembly after his election.
“Revolutions can be hijacked, co-opted, or drained of substance if they lack both a clear doctrine and an organization capable of embedding change over time. That is why this congress is historic, two years after we assumed the highest responsibilities,” he added.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the presidency in 2024 with Pastef’s backing, after Sonko was barred from running in the presidential election.
Following months of tension, Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister on May 22. Sonko was elected president of the National Assembly just days later.
Addressing Pastef delegates, Sonko warned against attempts to “sabotage” the party’s political project.
“No sabotage of this revolution will succeed because the people, standing firm alongside Pastef, will provide the necessary guarantees to finally liberate our country,” he cautioned.
Pastef’s leadership has boycotted the government appointed on Monday by President Faye, even though some party members appeared on the new ministerial list.
With 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, Pastef could table a motion of no confidence at any moment to topple the government.
For his part, Faye can form a new government after a censure and is entitled to dissolve the National Assembly starting in November 2026.
