Ousmane Sonko warns political rivals after sweeping re-election as Pastef leader

The speaker of Sénégal’s National Assembly and former prime minister Ousmane Sonko secured a decisive re-election as head of his party, Pastef, during the weekend. The victory quickly served as a warning to his political opponents amid the nation’s ongoing political crisis.

Delegates from national sections and the diaspora gathered in Diamniadio, near Dakar, for the party’s first congress.

Ousmane Sonko, who has led Pastef since its founding in 2014, retains his position for a new six-year term.

“I fully grasp the weight of this responsibility because Pastef is no ordinary party in Sénégal’s political landscape,” he declared from the podium after his election.

“Revolutions can be hijacked, absorbed, or emptied of their substance when they lack a clear doctrine or an organisation capable of sustaining change over time. That is why this congress is historic, coming two years after we assumed the highest responsibilities,” he added.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the presidency with Pastef’s backing in 2024, after Ousmane Sonko was barred from the presidential race.

Following months of tension, Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed Ousmane Sonko from the prime minister post on 22 May.

Sonko was elected president of the National Assembly just days later.

Addressing Pastef delegates, Ousmane Sonko warned against attempts to “sabotage” the political project his party champions.

“No plot to sabotage this revolution will succeed because the people, standing firmly alongside Pastef, will provide the necessary guarantees to finally free our country,” he cautioned.

Pastef’s leadership boycotted the government appointed on Monday by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, even though some party members were included in the new ministerial roster.

Pastef holds 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly and can at any time table a no-confidence motion to bring down the government.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, for his part, can form a new government after a censure and will be able to dissolve the National Assembly from November 2026.