The president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has publicly announced on the night of this Saturday his new political formation, Kiiraay or The Republican Patriots of Senegal. With this announcement, the definitive break with his former prime minister, Ousmane Sonko, and with the party he created, PASTEF, the same force that propelled Faye to the Presidency of the country, is completed.
After months of distancing, motivated in part by internal struggles and in part by differences over negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a loan program amid a debt crisis, the distancing has materialized in the schism made public in Dakar. There, Faye proclaimed the birth of the "majority party" of Senegal, Kiiray ("The shield," in the Wolof language), conceived "to serve the Republic, the home that welcomes all citizens."
Despite the emergence of Kiiraay, PASTEF still maintains a large majority in the National Assembly, presided over by Sonko himself. However, in recent months, a growing number of PASTEF cadres have left its ranks to align with Faye, including several regional leaders and members of its youth. They have also been joined by leaders from the opposition party Alliance for the Republic, who have decided to integrate into the new project of the head of State.
The creation of Faye's party opens the door to a direct political clash between the two former partners, whose first chapter will be experienced at the polls next year, with the local elections, and will have a key moment in the presidential elections of 2029. As of this weekend, Senegal is thus split between an Executive power led by Faye and a Legislative power whose highest exponent remains Sonko.