The rivalry between Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former ally Ousmane Sonko has once again spilled into parliament, this time centered on a constitutional reform concerning the president’s asset declaration.
On August 17, the National Assembly passed a bill amending Article 37 of the Constitution, introduced by lawmaker Amadou Ba of the ruling African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity party, known as Pastef. The text, approved by 133 of the 165 deputies, now requires the president, the speaker of the National Assembly and the prime minister to declare and publish their assets with the Constitutional Council not only upon taking office, as has been the case since 2001, but also upon leaving office, within three months.
The reform, presented by its backers as a way to strengthen transparency in state governance, one of the key promises made by the authorities in power since April 2024, comes amid an open rift between the two top figures of Senegal’s executive branch. Upon taking office, Bassirou Diomaye Faye had indeed declared his assets, notably more modest than those of his predecessors, including a 200 square meter house, a Ford vehicle and several plots of land. Until now, however, the Constitution only required this disclosure at the start of a term, a gap the new legislation closes.
The debate is the latest episode in a long-running tension between the president and Ousmane Sonko, the former prime minister, Faye’s political mentor and still the leader of Pastef. On August 4, during an official ceremony, Sonko reignited the controversy by denouncing what he called multimillionaires and billionaires displaying an indecent level of wealth acquired while in public office, a phenomenon he said had become normalized in recent years. He went on to stress the budgetary urgency facing the country, citing a need for 8.3 billion dollars in financing to balance the national budget.
In response, Bassirou Diomaye Faye struck back, in turn targeting Ousmane Sonko. Sonko, now speaker of the National Assembly since May 2026 after leaving the premiership, defended himself publicly on August 16 in a televised interview broadcast simultaneously on several channels. He said he had never failed to comply with his asset declaration obligations, presenting himself as beyond reproach and rejecting any accusation of illicit enrichment. He also addressed the departure of Pastef members and officials toward Kiiraay, the new political movement launched by President Faye, downplaying its significance and arguing that his party was now stronger than it had been a year or two ago.
In response, the Patriotes Républicains, President Faye’s movement, called a press conference as early as August 18 to push back against Sonko’s remarks, a sign of its determination not to let the speaker of the National Assembly dominate the media space alone.
This public confrontation confirms a gradual break between the two men, who had come to power together in 2024 under the slogan « Diomaye is Sonko, » after Sonko, barred from running due to a criminal conviction, chose his protégé Faye to carry the party’s candidacy. Since then, the creation of Kiiraay by the head of state has, according to several observers, sealed the political divorce between the two former allies, whose power-sharing arrangement at the top of the executive is being closely watched by both public opinion and foreign chancelleries.