In 2024, a new majority took power in Senegal. Propelled by a massive popular movement, the new regime, which has largely failed to meet the population's expectations, now finds itself in a state of open political crisis while the state teeters on the brink of financial collapse. --- A Look Back at the March 2024 Elections ---- On March 24, 2024, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the candidate of PASTEF (1), the opposition to Macky Sall's regime, won the presidential election in the first round with 54.3% of the votes cast (with a 61% voter turnout). Presented as a "revolution" by supporters of the new government, this electoral outcome, which Macky Sall had tried to avert by all possible means, attempting to secure a third term and even delaying the start of the election campaign until the last minute in early February, brought an end to months, even years (in 2021, then 2023, and finally early 2024), of mobilizations against the regime that were brutally repressed (between 65 and 80 deaths according to various sources). It should be noted, however, that this electoral victory was not solely the work of PASTEF, but of a broader coalition called "Diomaye Faye for President!" Upon assuming the presidency, he appointed Ousmane Sonko, the original leader of PASTEF, as Prime Minister. However, the President-elect and his Prime Minister faced a parliamentary majority loyal to the previous government and had to respect the two-year waiting period stipulated in the Constitution between the last election and a potential dissolution of Parliament. Thus, after a few months of waiting, on November 17 of the same year, the legislative elections allowed PASTEF to dominate the National Assembly: with nearly 55% of the votes cast, it obtained 130 out of 165 seats. From then on, PASTEF and its allies held all the levers of power, at least domestically, because for a country like Senegal, one must also consider relationships of dependence on the international stage.
Diomaye is Sonko: not a dueling duo.
We must also revisit the circumstances surrounding the 2024 election: they had delayed consequences that have been evident for about a year. Sonko was the founder of PASTEF, and Diomaye Faye was its second-in-command. Moreover, they were close associates before PASTEF's creation, as they were both tax inspectors and also leading members of their professional union. Without going into all the legal troubles of the former opposition leader, Sonko, prevented from running due to a final conviction, was chosen as the candidate by Bassirou Diomaye Faye. This led to the popularization of the main campaign slogan: "Diomaye mooy Sonko" (Diomaye is Sonko). Once elected, Sonko appointed Diomaye Faye as Prime Minister. In a constitutional system similar to that of the French Fifth Republic, one could wonder how long this partnership, based on the perceived equivalence of individuals, could last. The answer was: barely over a year. Indeed, as early as July 2025, Sonko began denouncing a "lack of authority at the state level." Then, as the months went by, relations only deteriorated. Sonko cultivated his popularity through rallies and public pronouncements that broke with the head of state, particularly regarding the position to adopt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and also on "accountability" for the former regime (see following paragraphs). The final episode of this discord occurred on April 22nd, when Sonko, who had adopted an opposition stance towards Diomaye Faye over the past few months, was finally dismissed. In response to the President's decision, Sonko returned to the National Assembly, where he had been elected in November 2024, only to resign and become Prime Minister. He was then elected Speaker of the Assembly by the PASTEF party members. He also convened a PASTEF congress on June 6, where he was re-elected unopposed. Meanwhile, Diomaye Faye replaced Sonko with Amadou El Amine Lo, a former official at the Central Bank of West African States, a profile likely to appeal to international financial circles. No longer able to rely on PASTEF, he is now turning to the "Diomaye Faye Coalition," the structure created during the presidential campaign. This split can be interpreted in two ways (which are not necessarily mutually exclusive): either a disagreement over political positions, or a power struggle between two figures at the highest levels of government. The first interpretation is that of those who defend "sovereignty" from an anti-imperialist perspective, and who see Diomaye Faye as a man who fell under the influence of foreign powers or international political or economic lobbies. This is not implausible.But we must also ask ourselves whether Sonko is truly the man of change he claims to be, which, as we shall see, is debatable. Furthermore, the other problem, if we follow this hypothesis, is the charismatic power he embodies. Certainly, leadership (in the sense of subservience to a leader) can be considered a phenomenon rooted in history, even in Senegalese political culture (from Blaise Diagne to Abdoulaye Wade, by way of Senghor). However, we have often seen the perverse effects of this, with a blurring of reference points and the feeling that politics is nothing more than a game of chess between leaders... Not to mention what, in Sonko's case, is taken to an unprecedented level, namely recurring references to religion (even if his party does not define itself as a religious party) and a mode of unanimous adherence linked to his person that is offered to PASTEF activists, as evidenced by the current slogan: Sonko rekk (Only Sonko).
The question of "accountability" in relation to Macky Sall's regime
Since the change of power, a few high-ranking figures from the previous regime have run afoul of the law, but overall, despite the outcry from the latter's supporters, it hasn't been the sweeping cleanup one might have expected, given the extent of the corruption at the end of Macky Sall's presidency. Moreover, the few former officials who were investigated ultimately benefited from provisional release, or even had the charges dropped. One of the points of disagreement between the two leaders is therefore this issue of "accountability." Sonko has attacked the justice system, accusing it of failing to do its job... That said, one might wonder if this isn't simply a convenient way of shirking responsibility for the stalled legal proceedings. But there is another dimension of accountability that seems to concern the two former opposition leaders less: the follow-up to the dozens of lawsuits filed by the families of the slain protesters. Certainly, some compensation has been paid. There was also the commemoration of a "Martyrs' Day" on December 7th, during which Sonko delivered a speech to honor their memory. On the legal front, the victims' families jointly filed complaints in July 2025. However, to date, the plaintiffs have received no updates on the progress of the investigations. This situation undoubtedly reflects a desire to appease the security forces, who maintained a position of political neutrality during the transition between the two presidencies and who can always prove a useful tool when it comes to suppressing social movements or political opponents. This was evident last February with the violent repression of striking students when security forces stormed the campus, resulting in one death and dozens of injuries.
The vote on the anti-LGBT law:
a form of state homophobia that is neither traditional nor entirely recent.
While Diomaye and Sonko disagreed on certain points, this was not the case when it came to strengthening the law against homosexuality. It's important to remember that this was a campaign promise of Sonko's, who went even further by proposing a law criminalizing homosexuality. The law that was passed increases the penalties for "acts against nature," raising them from 5 to 10 years. Furthermore, it also targets the "promotion" and "financing" of homosexuality. It passed with a very large majority, and those who abstained were opposition members of parliament who felt it wasn't repressive enough, since homosexuality remained a misdemeanor, not a crime as had been proposed. It is significant that, in a country where, in principle, a "democratic" debate exists, nowhere in the Senegalese press have one been able to read opposing viewpoints in defense of homosexual rights (2). It is only in foreign media that one has been able to read or hear positions against the tightening of legislation targeting homosexuals. The justification for this law is based on a "sovereignist" principle illustrated by these words: Westerners prohibit polygamy (or prohibit the wearing of the veil), therefore we have the right to prohibit homosexuality. In doing so, such reasoning overlooks the colonial origin of this legislation (in particular the term "act against nature") which has been toughened even though, moreover, African tradition (if this word has any meaning) has never made homosexuals "criminals" as the promoters of this state-sponsored homophobia understand it. In fact, the gorjiggéen (a Wolof term for male homosexuals, literally meaning "man-woman") were figures that could almost be described as "traditional" in Senegalese society, who had their place but remained somewhat marginalized. For the past three or four decades, "moral entrepreneurs," in this case from the Islamic sphere, have stirred up public opinion on this issue, sometimes conflating homosexuality and pedophilia. Initially marginal within the Islamic community, they have managed to gain the support of major religious brotherhoods on this issue. Thus, under Macky Sall, the passage of an anti-homosexuality law was already the subject of a campaign led by an anti-gay lobby called And Samm Jikko Yi (Together for the Defense of Our Values). In 2026, it was this same lobby that once again placed this campaign promise from the PASTEF program on the political agenda...
Senegal's debt: a cyclical but primarily structural phenomenon
The other point of contention raised by Sonko concerns the management of Senegal's debt. It's difficult to summarize in a few lines an issue that is not only economic and financial, but also political. We can begin by giving some figures: a little less than a year after PASTEF came to power, in February 2025, the Court of Auditors revealed that Senegal's debt in 2023 did not amount to 74% of GDP, as officially announced until then, but actually reached 100% of that amount. In light of this situation, the IMF suspended the disbursement of a scheduled $1.8 billion loan. Now, a figure of 132% is projected for 2025. This is the infamous "hidden debt." Where does this debt come from? Starting in 2019, Macky Sall's regime took out loans that it did not declare in the state budget, but rather in separate accounts not included in official statistics. The question then becomes: why didn't an institution like the IMF react sooner? Either the IMF experts are incompetent, or the IMF saw what was happening but turned a blind eye. Beyond this issue of hidden debt, some economists argue that, even without hidden debt, Senegal has a structural tendency toward indebtedness that predates recent years. Among the various structural factors are the mechanisms of the CFA franc, which make African economies more dependent on refinancing in international currencies compared to a situation where they have their own currency. There are other factors that could be mentioned that have increased this debt, such as the choice of costly investments driven by considerations of prestige, or even stemming from special international relationships (for example, the choice of the TER regional train built by Alstom for a line of only a few dozen kilometers, while the rest of the rail network is neglected).
In any case, the prospect of default seems to be looming, and the consequences of this critical economic situation are becoming increasingly apparent (inflation, stagnant economic activity, and unemployment).
Towards a revival of social struggles?
In these deteriorating economic conditions, protest movements have emerged. These movements affect specific sectors, such as transportation and healthcare. An inter-union initiative, the Labor Defense Union Front, was formed to unite these demands, denouncing the fact that Ousmane Sonko's government had failed to honor its commitments when, in 2025, it asked unions to sign a National Pact for Social Stability. A first march took place on April 8th, but it is difficult to know if this will lead to a larger mobilization.
It is also worth noting that the government did not hesitate to use repression to quell students demanding the payment of overdue scholarships. Not only were the students physically repressed, resulting in the death of one of their members, but student associations were also suspended, meaning they no longer have representation in university bodies. However, students had been one of the most active centers of resistance against Macky Sall's regime and overwhelmingly supported Sonko and PASTEF. The events of February were sometimes perceived as a betrayal by some students, but for the moment, this disappointment, which some remaining supporters of the old regime, now in opposition, are trying to exploit, is not enough to create a grassroots opposition to the current regime. Leftist forces that supported PASTEF in its rise to power, such as the Front for a Popular and Pan-African Anti-Imperialist Revolution (FRAPP), which recruits particularly among students, defend the line of support for Sonko, rejecting the debt restructuring advocated by the IMF, in opposition to Diomaye, at least until now. If, indeed, the "solutions" advocated by the IMF are only aimed at satisfying international finance and making the Senegalese people pay for the mismanagement of the previous regime, the question that must be asked for the future, beyond the opposition between Sonko and Diomaye, is that of the emergence of a social front and a political alternative independent of the quarrels of demagogic politicians, who rely on popular movements when they are in opposition and then repress them when they come to power.
Dakar correspondent
Notes
(1) Meaning of the acronym PASTEF: "African Patriots for Solidarity, Work, Ethics, and Fraternity." The word pastef in Wolof also means goal, objective.
(2) As an example of an internationally expressed perspective, see the feminist critique by Rama Salla Dieng: https://afriquexxi.info/Senegal-Une-loi-contre-les-queers-cache-sexe-des-echecs-du-regime
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4747
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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