As Senegal undergoes an institutional reshuffle marked by the appointment of a new prime minister and the election of Ousmane Sonko as head of the national assembly, the ruling party has outlined specific programmatic conditions for its participation in the new government.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Executive Committee (COMEX) of PASTEF – Les Patriotes confirmed that several of its members had been contacted by the Presidency for consultations on the formation of the government led by new PM Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo, appointed on Monday evening to replace Ousmane Sonko.
The party reaffirmed its readiness to support the President “within a framework of frank and responsible cooperation,” while setting out a series of policy conditions. These include adherence to the programme that brought the party to power in 2024, clarification of sovereign debt management, measures to curb the rising cost of living, continuation of renegotiations of strategic contracts, anti-corruption efforts and oversight of opaque funds, handling of judicial cases, as well as the structure and allocation of ministerial portfolios.
The COMEX specified that discussions must take place with the party’s authorised institutional leadership and not with individual members. Any member attending such consultations in a personal capacity “will have acted on their own behalf,” the statement warned.
The position comes one day after the appointment of Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lo as Prime Minister. A former Minister of State in charge of monitoring the Senegal 2050 Agenda and ex-official of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the new head of government stated that his appointment did not represent “a change of direction” but rather “a change of method,” reaffirming that all public policies would remain aligned with the Senegal 2050 Agenda.
The following day, Ousmane Sonko, reinstated as a member of parliament in a plenary session, was elected President of the national assembly with 132 votes out of 133, following the resignation of outgoing speaker Malick Ndiaye. In his inaugural address, Sonko announced that parliament would fully exercise its constitutional prerogatives, particularly in overseeing government action and evaluating public policies.
AC/lb/as/APA