President Bassirou Diomaye Faye launches Kiiraay party in Senegal
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye officially launched a new political party, Kiiraay – Les Patriotes Républicains, at a constitutive assembly in Dakar on 25 July 2026. The party is presented as the majority formation in Senegal and is positioned as a defender of the Republic, its institutions, ethics and transparency, marking a decisive break with former ally Ousmane Sonko and his party PASTEF.
PASTEF, which still controls 130 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, remains the parliamentary majority, creating a dual‑center of power. Several government ministers – Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, Déthié Fall and Moustapha Guirassy – and the SÉME party have joined Kiiraay, while former Pastef local coordinators Alassane Diallo and Dr Badou Diarra also defected. The launch was accompanied by extensive media coverage on channels such as TFM and Sen TV, reportedly funded by substantial expenditures.
The new party’s creation follows a constitutional dispute in which a Pastef‑backed amendment to bar presidents from leading parties was struck down by the Constitutional Council on 9 July 2026. Kiiraay aims to consolidate presidential support, rally mayors and local officials, and advance the government's reform agenda.
Entities: Aminata Touré · Bassirou Diomaye Faye · Kiiraay – Les Patriotes Républicains · Kiiraay-Les Patriotes Républicaines · Ousmane Sonko · Pastef · Senegal
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The launch marks a split with Ousmane Sonko, whose Pastef party retains 130 of 165 seats in the National Assembly. (6ba918e4-d1f2-4ac1-9776-1cae3777627c)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Ministers Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, Déthié Fall and Moustapha Guirassy and the SÉME party have joined Kiiraay. (a395159d-972a-4a26-aaa3-a1b8df3289ea)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The launch involved significant financial spending for media coverage on channels such as TFM and Sen TV. (f29f9ea4-0242-4115-a2f7-0b2918b93220)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] A constitutional amendment proposed by Pastef to bar the president from party leadership was struck down by the Constitutional Council on 9 July 2026. (6ba918e4-d1f2-4ac1-9776-1cae3777627c)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Former Pastef coordinators Alassane Diallo and Dr Badou Diarra defected to Kiiraay. (c4754b77-0dd8-415b-834f-db8d58a146a6)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Kiiraay aims to defend the Republic, its institutions, ethics and transparency. (6ba918e4-d1f2-4ac1-9776-1cae3777627c, f5538c83-da80-4890-a116-55732a3842e1)
- [● 5 SOURCES] President Bassirou Diomaye Faye launched the Kiiraay – Les Patriotes Républicains party on 25 July 2026 in Dakar. (f4d2f338-1b39-43bf-a1cf-9e19ee11b5a9, 0d0f31b4-4bd8-4417-a39b-a86ca8a9c986, 6ba918e4-d1f2-4ac1-9776-1cae3777627c, d2fbae)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Kiiraay – Les Patriotes Républicains is presented as the majority party of Senegal. (f4d2f338-1b39-43bf-a1cf-9e19ee11b5a9)