Faye to Form New Party After Sonko Split
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has directed the creation of a new political party to consolidate support among his backers, marking further separation from former ally and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
The announcement was made during a meeting at the Presidential Palace with 306 mayors from across the country.
Faye told members of the broad “Coalition Diomaye Président,” which backed his 2024 campaign, that he wanted to move toward a more structured political force. He instructed Aminata Touré, the coalition’s general supervisor and High Representative of the President, to set up a reflection committee tasked with preparing the new party’s statutes, programme, internal regulations, name and emblem in the shortest possible time.
The decision comes less than two months after Faye dismissed Sonko as prime minister on 22 May 2026 and dissolved the government. Sonko, founder of the influential PASTEF party and Faye’s former political mentor, was replaced by economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo and has since been elected Speaker of the National Assembly. The two men had campaigned together in 2024 under the slogan “Sonko is Diomaye, Diomaye is Sonko,” with Faye winning the presidency in the first round after Sonko was barred from running.
Tensions between the pair had been building over governance priorities, control of the ruling coalition and the pace of reforms. PASTEF, which holds a parliamentary majority, has increasingly aligned itself with Sonko and maintained distance from the presidency since the government change.
The political realignment is taking place alongside proposed constitutional reforms approved by lawmakers last week. The changes include a provision barring a sitting president from leading a political party, a measure Sonko has strongly supported. Faye has said he will submit the reforms to a popular referendum, though the timing has not been confirmed.
Senegal continues to face economic pressures stemming from misreported public debt under the previous administration, which has complicated relations with international lenders including the IMF. Both Faye and Sonko are positioning themselves ahead of local elections expected between late December 2026 and January 2027. The coalition described the 3 July meeting as a historic turning point and reaffirmed the mayors’ unity behind Faye’s vision for systemic change.
Sonko, who was elected president of PASTEF at the party’s first congress in June, has consolidated his leadership within the party. Informed observers see Faye’s initiative as an effort to build an independent political base rooted in local elected officials rather than relying solely on PASTEF structures.
