Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is preparing to establish a new political party, according to a coalition backing him, in a move that confirms a lasting rift with his recently removed prime minister.
A statement from the pro-Faye coalition, released late Friday, said Faye has tasked senior adviser Aminata Toure with setting up a task force to build the new party. Until now, Faye has remained a member of the ruling Pastef party, led by Ousmane Sonko, who served as prime minister until Faye removed him from the role in May, following months of mounting tension between the two leaders.
Since his ouster, Sonko has taken on the role of speaker of the National Assembly, where he’s been pushing constitutional reforms that would, among other measures, prevent a sitting president from also leading a political party. Lawmakers approved these changes last week, but Faye has opted to send the matter to a public referendum instead, though a date has not yet been set.
The political tension comes as Senegal simultaneously deals with a debt crisis triggered by revelations that the previous government had misreported the country’s debt figures.
Both Faye and Sonko are now looking ahead to local elections in 2027, which will serve as an early test of each leader’s real level of public support.
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