Senegal’s President Faye Moves to Launch New Party, Deepening Split with Sonko

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is preparing to establish his own political party, a move that signals a decisive break with former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and reshapes the dynamics of the country’s ruling coalition ahead of upcoming local elections and constitutional reforms.

A fractured political alliance

Faye and Sonko rose to prominence together as the leading figures of PASTEF (Pastef/Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité), a movement that positioned itself as a challenger to Senegal’s traditional political establishment. Faye came to the presidency with strong backing from Sonko, and the two men had presented themselves as part of a unified reformist project that energised a significant segment of the Senegalese electorate.

A widening rift

The reported decision to launch a separate political formation suggests the partnership between the two leaders has reached an apparent breaking point. Reports indicate that months of visible tension over governance priorities and the management of reform efforts have driven them apart. By forming his own platform, Faye would gain an independent political base unconnected to the party structures that originally elevated him to power, while leaving unresolved questions about the loyalty of grassroots supporters who backed the broader movement.

Stakes ahead of key elections

The timing of the move is significant. Senegal is approaching a series of important local elections, and the government has signalled ambitions around constitutional reform that could reshape the country’s institutional framework. A formal separation between Faye and Sonko could redraw the political map ahead of those contests, creating space for new alliances and rivalries to emerge as figures on both sides seek to consolidate their own followings.

If the new party is formally launched, it would mark a turning point in Senegalese politics, transforming a movement that had presented itself as a single force of change into competing centres of political gravity with uncertain implications for the country’s reform agenda.

Source: Africanews — read the original report.