Faye vs Sonko: who really runs Senegal?
Updated 19 May 2026
Inside the Faye–Sonko power balance: the 2024 substitute-candidate strategy, the 2025–2026 rift over party and debt, and where constitutional and political power sit.
The question of who really runs Senegal stems from an unusual origin: the two men at the top reached power as a pair, and have since drifted apart.
Tension: constitutional authority (Faye) vs control of the majority party (Sonko)
The 2024 substitute-candidate strategy
Barred from the 2024 ballot, Sonko ran Bassirou Diomaye Faye as a substitute candidate under the Wolof slogan “Diomaye moy Sonko” — “Diomaye is Sonko”. Faye won the first round with 54.28% in March 2024, and Sonko was appointed Prime Minister on 3 April 2024.[2]
The 2025–2026 rift
Over 2025 and into 2026 the partnership strained over coalition leadership and over IMF and debt strategy. In March 2026, Sonko threatened to take PASTEF back into opposition and created the APTE alliance.[2] In early May 2026, President Faye publicly warned that PASTEF “risks collapsing”, criticised what he called “excessive personalisation”, and stressed that he holds “the right to appoint and dismiss” the prime minister.[1] In mid-May 2026, an electoral-law reform cleared Sonko’s path to a possible 2029 presidential run.[3]
Where power actually sits
Constitutionally, the president holds executive power: Faye appoints and dismisses the prime minister.[1] Politically, Sonko controls PASTEF, which holds 130 of 165 parliamentary seats.[1] The June 2026 PASTEF congress is the pivotal test of which logic prevails.
See also Who is Ousmane Sonko? Biography and the full Ousmane Sonko timeline.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Faye and Sonko in conflict?
- There is a documented rift. In 2025–2026 the two clashed over coalition leadership and economic strategy, and in May 2026 President Faye publicly warned that PASTEF risks collapsing and stressed his power to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.
- What does 'Diomaye moy Sonko' mean?
- It is a Wolof slogan meaning 'Diomaye is Sonko', used in the 2024 campaign to signal that a vote for Bassirou Diomaye Faye was effectively a vote for Sonko.
- Who has the constitutional power in Senegal?
- The president holds executive power and appoints and dismisses the prime minister. Politically, Sonko controls PASTEF, which holds 130 of 165 parliamentary seats.