The Pastef-Les Patriotes (parliamentary majority) held its first national congress this weekend since its creation in 2014 in Dakar. The gathering aimed to give the party fresh momentum amid a political reconfiguration, redraw strategic lines under President Ousmane Sonko’s leadership, and recalibrate Senegal’s political governance.

The congress, which concluded on Sunday at Dakar Arena, was a popular assembly. Ousmane Sonko, confirmed as president and leader of the majority party, addressed a crowd of loyal militants, unveiling a three-part political roadmap: ideological consolidation of the party, direct challenge to the executive, and securing the electoral calendar. Sonko first reflected on what he called “the first phase of clarification” initiated since the major rally of November 8. “Politically, Pastef has remained Pastef and emerges from this clarification stronger,” he noted. While acknowledging that the period brought “surprises and disappointments,” he said he personally experienced none. He then claimed for his movement the authorship of major battles: the fight against corruption, justice, renegotiation of contracts, and above all, retaining the majority in the National Assembly.

On governance, Sonko launched direct attacks against the head of state. “This country has suffered enough from plots and deals,” he declared, urging each institution to stay within its constitutional role without being instrumentalized by personal ambitions. The accusation was explicit: “Even if the president wants to satisfy political ambitions, it should not be accepted that he undermines institutions.”

To those raising the specter of an institutional crisis, he countered with a sovereign reading of the ballot box results: “There is no institutional crisis in Senegal. The people have chosen to entrust the presidency to one person and the National Assembly to another.”

Parliamentary lock on local elections

Sonko firmly closed the door on any possible postponement of local elections, using both a political and procedural argument. “Pastef will never agree to a postponement of local elections,” he stated, before reminding the executive of constitutional constraints: “To do so, the National Assembly must pass an enabling law.”

As the congress ended, the path seemed set for a renewed reconfiguration of the political scene and a new approach to political governance in Senegal.