While some officials of the ruling Pastef party are avoiding the subject, perhaps fearing a backlash by decree, Waly Diouf Bodiang is pulling no punches. In a profile published in Jeune Afrique, the director of the Autonomous Port of Dakar didn’t mince words when criticising President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The main reason for his disapproval lies in the way the Diomaye Président coalition has been managed since it won the presidential election in 2024.
Bodiang, a fierce supporter of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said the president has been operating in “unexpected political contradiction” with Pastef. “Having a president who sits in a coalition parallel to the party that got him elected is beguiling” he observed.
Indeed, while some Pastef loyalists expected Diomaye Faye to dismantle his coalition and redirect most of the power to the party headquarters, this did not happen. On the contrary, the president solidified the structure that brought him to the presidential palace, including members hostile to Pastef leader Ousmane Sonko. That, said Bodiang, is “a stillborn project”.
One of the president’s appointments that has provoked the ire of Pastef members is that of Aminata “Mimi” Touré. “This was the last straw,” stated Waly Diouf Bodiang. “All coalitions in Senegal revolve around a party. In this case, Pastef. It is up to its president to decide who leads the coalition. From the moment Bassirou Diomaye Faye wants to appoint his coordinator, we are stepping outside the political framework of Pastef,” he added.
Seneweb
