Senegal: Re-elected president, Ousmane Sonko maintains control over Pastef during a tense congress

Ousmane Sonko was unanimously re-elected as president of Pastef-Les Patriotes on Saturday, June 6, 2026, during the party’s first ordinary congress held at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center (CICAD) in Diamniadio, about thirty kilometers from Dakar. The sole founder and candidate validated by the High Authority for the regulation of the party, he has been leading the organization since its creation in January 2014. According to the organizers, more than 1,200 delegates and several foreign delegations were present.

The congress, which continues on Sunday, June 7, adopted a general resolution establishing sovereignty as a central pillar of the party’s political doctrine. “Sovereignty is not decreed; it is organized,” Sonko declared before the congress participants. The text calls for preserving “the spirit of rupture” that brought Pastef to power, consolidating a “strategic state,” and fighting against corruption. It affirms a pan-Africanist grounding based on regional cooperation and the “construction of an African power capable of defending its strategic interests.” An ideological charter and a strategic orientation document were also adopted.

The reappointment comes two weeks after Sonko’s dismissal from the Prime Minister’s office on May 22, 2026, and his accession to the presidency of the National Assembly on May 26, a position he now holds as the second highest-ranking official in the Senegalese protocol order. Wikipedia indicates that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye left Pastef in 2026 to declare himself independent.

A congress under internal tension

Sonko’s reappointment took place amid an openly internal crisis. Since his ousting from the Prime Minister’s office, he has prohibited Pastef members from participating in the government formed on June 1 by Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô. Several officials, however, have joined the executive despite this directive; they are subject to disciplinary proceedings that could lead to expulsion. The Minister of Urban Planning, Moussa Bala Fofana, reappointed to his position, announced his departure from the party.

Xalima describes the situation as “the greatest internal crisis” of Pastef since its creation, marked by the confrontation of two legitimacies: that of the founder and historical leader, and that of the elected president of the Republic under the banner of the Patriots. Diomaye Faye was not present in Diamniadio.

Pastef, with 130 to 132 seats out of 165 in the National Assembly, remains by far the leading political force in the country. Sonko has ruled out any motion of censure against the government, positioning himself in a role of parliamentary control rather than outright opposition. The next presidential election is set for 2029.