Senegal President Faye Launches New Party, Formalising Split from Sonko and Pastef

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has officially launched a new political party, formalising his break from former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and the Pastef party that propelled both men to power.

Mr Faye unveiled his new party, Kiiraay, also known as the Republican Patriots party, at a gathering in the capital, Dakar, last week. Kiiraay means “shield” in the local Wolof language. At the gathering on Saturday, the president described the party as “the majority party in this country.”

Mr Faye and Mr Sonko were once the twin faces of Senegal’s anti-establishment movement, with Mr Sonko playing a key role in Mr Faye’s election as president. However, the fallout between the two came to light after Mr Faye fired Mr Sonko as Prime Minister in May and replaced him with Ahmadu Lo, an economist and former banker at the Central Bank of West African States. Mr Sonko, on the other hand, was elected speaker of the parliament four days after his dismissal.

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Premium Times reported that Mr Sonko pulled the Pastef party out of the government, after which the president appointed new cabinet members. The friction originally stems from an increasingly visible power struggle for control of the government, as well as disagreements over economic policy and IMF negotiations.

Last month, a protest broke out in Dakar over lawmakers’ attempt to propose a constitutional amendment. The bill, in part, seeks to prohibit a sitting president from serving as leader of a political party. Pastef, having a majority of seats, had pushed for the amendment. But a coalition supporting Mr Faye demanded withdrawal of the bill. Critics of the proposed reforms have accused Mr Sonko of attempting to consolidate power.

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