By: Abdoulie John
Ousmane Sonko, President of PASTEF-Les Patriotes and Speaker of the National Assembly, has issued a firm conditional warning to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his allies: PASTEF will not table a motion of no confidence unless provoked.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday at the Serigne Abass Sall Residence in Dakar, Sonko declared: “We will not table a motion of no confidence unless the President and his people attack us first.”
The statement comes amid rising tensions following the formation of a new government by the recently appointed Prime Minister. Despite PASTEF’s decision to stay out of the cabinet on the instructions of its Executive Committee, four ministers reportedly broke ranks. They accepted positions, exposing cracks within the once-united opposition-turned-ruling alliance.
Sonko insisted that PASTEF is not in opposition to President Faye or his government. “They must address the aspirations of Senegalese, who are currently worried,” he said. “The rainy season is approaching, and the likely rise in prices is a cause for concern.”
However, the PASTEF leader sharply criticized what he described as provocations from the President’s allies. He urged party members to exercise restraint and avoid responding to what he called deliberate attempts to draw PASTEF into conflict.
“There are certain activists who do more harm than good for the party by publishing or making sensational statements,” Sonko noted. He cited the recent summonses issued to prominent figures Cheikh Bara and Guy Marius Sagnia as part of this “strategy of provocation,” claiming the prosecutor knows such moves lack legal grounding.
Sonko expressed deep concern over alleged scheming within the ruling camp, including a referral to the Constitutional Council. “They are engaged in scheming and plotting,” he warned. “If they use the power of the state to fight us, we will use all the legal means granted to us by the Constitution to confront them.”
The outspoken leader reaffirmed PASTEF’s commitment to constitutional order while positioning the party as a vigilant defender of democratic principles and the will of the Senegalese people.
Political observers see Sonko’s remarks as an attempt to de-escalate immediate confrontation while drawing clear red lines. With the rainy season looming and economic pressures mounting, the coming weeks will test whether the fragile alliance between PASTEF and President Faye’s administration can hold or whether simmering tensions will erupt into open political warfare.
