Several senior officials of Senegal’s ruling African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) party have resigned to join the political camp of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in a fresh sign of widening divisions within the governing movement.
The resignations, announced on July 23, come just days before July 25, when President Faye is expected to unveil the name of his new political party at a founding assembly in Dakar.
Among those who have quit PASTEF is Dr El Hadji Mansour Diop, Director-General of the ‘Aristide Le Dantec Hospital’, who criticized what he described as the “clannish management” of former Prime Minister and current National Assembly President Ousmane Sonko’s inner circle.
Several officials of the Senegalese Patriotic Youth, including Bakary Bass Sakho and Ousmane Sonko Jr, have also left the party. Meanwhile, Lansana Gagny Sakho, Chairman of the Board of the investment promotion agency APIX and a PASTEF executive, publicly declared his support for President Faye without resigning from the party.
The defections follow months of political tension between President Faye and his former ally Ousmane Sonko. Sonko was dismissed as Prime Minister on May 22, before being elected President of the National Assembly on May 26.
Despite the resignations, PASTEF has downplayed the developments and says it is continuing a nationwide membership drive aimed at recruiting one million members.