Senegal’s Pastef Party Re-Elects Ousmane Sonko as Leader
Sonko won re-election as party leader days after his dismissal as prime minister and subsequent election as National Assembly speaker. The vote occurred amid a rift with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
France 24Ousmane Sonko was re-elected head of Senegal’s majority Pastef party on Saturday at a congress held in Diamniadio, outside Dakar. A text read out at the gathering announced the result of the leadership vote, according to reports citing the event.
Sonko had already been elected president of the National Assembly following his dismissal as prime minister on 22 May and currently serves as Speaker of the Assembly. Pastef holds a majority in parliament.
The party congress occurred days after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on Thursday, called for unity. “No quarrel, however bitter, is worth tearing apart the country we share,” Faye said in the speech.
Faye won the presidency in 2024 after Sonko was barred from standing. Sonko had anointed Faye as his replacement candidate and subsequently served as prime minister before his dismissal.
