The head of the Senegalese National Assembly and former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko was overwhelmingly re-elected on Saturday as the leader of his party , Pastef, a political victory that quickly served as a warning to his political opponents, in the context of a political crisis in Senegal .
Delegates from national sections and the diaspora met in Diamniadio, near Dakar, for the party's first congress.
Ousmane Sonko, who has led Pastef since its creation in 2014, retains his position for a new six-year term.
I am aware of the weight of this responsibility since Pastef is not an ordinary party in the Senegalese landscape," he declared from the podium after his election.
"Revolutions can be hijacked, absorbed or emptied of their content when they lack a clear doctrine and an organization capable of sustaining change over time. And that is why this congress is historic, two years after our accession to the highest responsibilities," he added.
Head of State Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the presidency with the support of Pastef in 2024, after Ousmane Sonko was excluded from the presidential election race.
After months of tension, Bassirou Diomaye Faye finally dismissed Ousmane Sonko from his position as prime minister on May 22nd.
He was elected president of the National Assembly a few days later.
Speaking to delegates from Pastef, Ousmane Sonko warned against attempts to “sabotage” the political project supported by his party.
"No plan to sabotage this revolution will succeed because the people, standing up alongside Pastef, will give the necessary guarantees so that we can finally liberate our country," he warned.
The Pastef leadership boycotted the government appointed on Monday by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, despite the presence of some members of Ousmane Sonko's party in the new list of ministers.
Pastef holds 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly and can at any time file a motion of censure to overthrow the government.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, for his part, can reform a government after a censure and will be able to dissolve the National Assembly from November 2026.
