Ousmane Sonko weighs in on diomaye faye’s pastef status amid exclusion calls

In Senegal, President Diomaye Faye faces accusations from his own party, Pastef, for allegedly deviating from the core principles that propelled him to the nation’s highest office. Amidst growing calls for his removal from the party, Ousmane Sonko, speaking on Monday, June 15, indicated that a decision on the matter ‘will be made when the time is right,’ emphasizing that no action would be taken hastily.

Sonko elaborated, stating, ‘The assessment will occur at the opportune moment. I believe Pastef is a highly structured and well-organized political entity. It operates under established guidelines that clearly define the procedures for addressing grievances and determining whether an individual’s exclusion is warranted. The party itself will make this evaluation. I am not the party; its various bodies will decide in due course.’ He further clarified that ‘we have not yet reached that stage.’

When questioned about whether he perceived President Faye’s actions as a ‘betrayal’ of Pastef’s political agenda, Sonko explicitly rejected the term. ‘The concept of betrayal largely pertains to morality and personal sentiment,’ he explained. ‘I prefer to focus on a more political framework. My current assessment is that many of the pledges we made to the Senegalese populace are not being honored, and there appears to be a lack of commitment to fulfilling them. However, I am not operating on an emotional level. I leave the notion of betrayal to moral considerations,’ he concluded.