During a Saturday gathering in Dahra Djoloff, Ousmane Sonko launched a rare public attack on the very system his party, Pastef, had vowed to dismantle. Addressing a visibly engaged audience, the prominent opposition figure expressed disbelief that close collaborators could abandon the movement’s founding principles after assuming office. “This isn’t about individuals,” he emphasized. “It’s about honoring our commitments to the Senegalese people—transparency, accountable governance, judicial reform, and equitable resource management.”

Sonko’s most damning accusation centered on the alleged reconfiguration of state institutions under the current administration. “Sadly, the very system we sought to dismantle has reorganized itself within the palace,” he declared. “It has reverted to the same corrupt practices we fought against.”

The opposition leader highlighted what he described as a dangerous imbalance between institutional power and popular sovereignty. “Today, we see a party without electoral roots holding state institutions. In a democracy, power flows from the people—not from bureaucratic machinery,” he argued. According to Sonko, this disconnect could drive those in power to prioritize state apparatus over genuine public service.

He further warned of attempts to manipulate Senegal’s highest judicial bodies. “There are maneuvers underway to place the Supreme Court and Constitutional Council at the service of a select few,” he alleged. For Sonko, these developments underscore a systematic erosion of the democratic gains promised six years ago by the ruling coalition.