Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has officially launched his own political party, marking a decisive break from his former political ally Ousmane Sonko and opening a new chapter in the power struggle that has dominated Senegalese politics in recent months.
The new party, KIIRAAY – La Patrie d’abord (The Nation First) / Les Patriotes Républicains, was unveiled on Saturday during a founding general assembly at the King Fahd Palace in Dakar. The launch transforms the former Diomaye Président coalition into a fully fledged political party built around the president.
The creation of KIIRAAY is widely seen as the clearest sign yet that President Faye is establishing an independent political base after his split with Sonko, the leader of the dissolved PASTEF movement who played a pivotal role in Faye’s rise to the presidency.
A New Political Base for the President
Addressing supporters, President Faye described KIIRAAY as a long-term national project rather than simply another political party.
“Today, we are founding a common home. To found is to plant a seed,” he said, using agricultural imagery throughout his speech to explain his political vision.
Drawing on his childhood in the rural community of Ndiaganiao, Faye said his upbringing in a farming family shaped his understanding of politics long before he entered public life.
“The most honest judge is time,” he said, urging supporters to focus on action instead of political disputes.
Using another farming metaphor, he added that a farmer does not spend the planting season fighting weeds but works the land. He described KIIRAAY as a “new seed” that should take root across Senegal’s municipalities and among the Senegalese diaspora.
Formalizing the Break with PASTEF
The launch of KIIRAAY formalizes a political realignment that began in late 2025 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, who was tasked with reorganizing the president’s supporters into a unified political movement.
The restructuring gathered pace following the collapse of relations between Faye and Sonko. Over recent months, a growing number of political leaders, mayors, and civil society figures have abandoned Sonko’s camp to align themselves with the president, laying the groundwork for the new party.
While Faye had stepped down as PASTEF’s secretary-general after becoming president, arguing that the presidency should remain separate from party leadership, the creation of KIIRAAY now gives him his own political vehicle and effectively ends any lingering political ties with the movement that brought him to power.
Power Struggle Enters a New Phase
The establishment of KIIRAAY significantly raises the stakes in the ongoing rivalry between President Faye and Sonko.
The two leaders, once regarded as inseparable allies, have increasingly found themselves competing for influence within Senegal’s ruling majority after Faye dismissed Sonko from government. Since then, both camps have been working to consolidate support among elected officials, ministers, and grassroots activists.
By launching KIIRAAY, Faye is moving beyond governing as a president elected under the PASTEF banner to leading his own political organization capable of contesting future elections and shaping his political legacy independently of Sonko.
The move also places ministers and senior officials who previously belonged to different political parties in a difficult position. They are now expected to declare exclusive allegiance to KIIRAAY if they wish to remain part of the president’s political project, a decision that could further reshape Senegal’s political landscape.
For Sonko, whose supporters have maintained that PASTEF remains the country’s principal political force, the emergence of KIIRAAY presents a direct challenge as both camps compete for control of the reform agenda and the loyalty of the coalition that swept them to power in 2024.
Nationwide Mobilization Planned
KIIRAAY’s leadership says the party will begin a nationwide tour in the coming months to recruit members across Senegal’s regions and within the diaspora.
The campaign is expected to culminate in a national congress after the rainy season, where the party will formally establish its governing structures and complete its nationwide organization.
The launch signals that Senegal’s political contest is no longer between the government and the opposition alone. It has increasingly become an internal battle for leadership between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former mentor, Ousmane Sonko, with both men now leading separate political movements and competing to define the country’s future direction.
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