Senegal President Bassirou Faye launches Kiiraay party, formalizing split from PASTEF

Senegalese President Bassirou Faye unveiled a new political formation called Kiiraay – the Republican Patriots party – in Dakar, describing it as the country's majority party. "Kiiraay" means “shield” in Wolof. The launch formalises Faye's break with former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and the PASTEF party, after Faye dismissed Sonko in May and appointed economist Ahmadu Lo as his replacement.

Sonko, once a key ally in the anti‑establishment movement, later secured the parliamentary speaker’s role days after being reinstated as a lawmaker. The split follows a recent protest over a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar a sitting president from leading a political party, a bill championed by PASTEF and opposed by Faye’s coalition.