In a comprehensive statement released on his official Facebook page, Aldiouma Sow, a prominent member of Pastef les Patriotes’ National Political Bureau (BPN), has come forward to advocate for party executives who accepted President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s invitation. This defense emerges as the growing estrangement between the head of state and his former Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, continues to reverberate across the Senegalese political landscape.
Sow asserts that President Faye’s initiation of political dialogue is not a mere tactical maneuver but stems from a deeply held and consistent conviction, a principle he inherited from his call for national dialogue in May 2025. “For him, dialogue is not a circumstantial adjustment variable,” Sow declared, emphasizing that the President dedicated “entire days to dialogue, even though nothing, constitutionally, ethically, or morally, compelled him to do so.”
Aldiouma Sow utilized this public address to unequivocally debunk a persistent rumor: the notion of a secret agreement supposedly forged at Cap Manuel prison before Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s release. “Candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye never concluded a secret pact at Cap Manuel prison,” he affirmed categorically, following recent statements from Pastef leader Ousmane Sonko, who insisted such an agreement did exist between himself and the current president. Conversely, Sow implied that it was within those prison walls that certain *other* candidates allegedly swore, “hand on the Quran,” to transfer power to Sonko upon their own presidential ascension.
The BPN member further elaborated on his critique against what he termed “destructive messianism,” which he believes embodies a dangerous drift threatening the party’s very existence since 2022. He pointed to various instances, including the legislative nominations that year, where long-standing Pastef cadres were reportedly sidelined in favor of last-minute allies, as well as the local elections from the same period. “The same pattern will be repeated during upcoming legislative and local elections, and that will signify the political demise of Pastef’s grassroots,” he cautioned, urging coordinators to “reject this messianic diktat.”
Addressing the ministers who have retained their positions in the executive branch despite partisan pressures, Sow conveyed a resolute message: “Be proud of your decision. You may be banned from WhatsApp and Telegram groups, excluded or suspended from the Party’s national bodies, but politically speaking, no one will ever be able to separate you from the patriotic project.”
He concluded by extending an invitation to the undecided, encouraging them to disengage from the ‘Sonkist’ dynamic before it becomes irreversible: “To our other brothers and sisters, cadres, and deputies who might still be tempted by destructive messianism, you still have nothing to lose by changing your minds.”
Sow asserts that President Faye’s initiation of political dialogue is not a mere tactical maneuver but stems from a deeply held and consistent conviction, a principle he inherited from his call for national dialogue in May 2025. “For him, dialogue is not a circumstantial adjustment variable,” Sow declared, emphasizing that the President dedicated “entire days to dialogue, even though nothing, constitutionally, ethically, or morally, compelled him to do so.”
Aldiouma Sow utilized this public address to unequivocally debunk a persistent rumor: the notion of a secret agreement supposedly forged at Cap Manuel prison before Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s release. “Candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye never concluded a secret pact at Cap Manuel prison,” he affirmed categorically, following recent statements from Pastef leader Ousmane Sonko, who insisted such an agreement did exist between himself and the current president. Conversely, Sow implied that it was within those prison walls that certain *other* candidates allegedly swore, “hand on the Quran,” to transfer power to Sonko upon their own presidential ascension.
The BPN member further elaborated on his critique against what he termed “destructive messianism,” which he believes embodies a dangerous drift threatening the party’s very existence since 2022. He pointed to various instances, including the legislative nominations that year, where long-standing Pastef cadres were reportedly sidelined in favor of last-minute allies, as well as the local elections from the same period. “The same pattern will be repeated during upcoming legislative and local elections, and that will signify the political demise of Pastef’s grassroots,” he cautioned, urging coordinators to “reject this messianic diktat.”
Addressing the ministers who have retained their positions in the executive branch despite partisan pressures, Sow conveyed a resolute message: “Be proud of your decision. You may be banned from WhatsApp and Telegram groups, excluded or suspended from the Party’s national bodies, but politically speaking, no one will ever be able to separate you from the patriotic project.”
He concluded by extending an invitation to the undecided, encouraging them to disengage from the ‘Sonkist’ dynamic before it becomes irreversible: “To our other brothers and sisters, cadres, and deputies who might still be tempted by destructive messianism, you still have nothing to lose by changing your minds.”
Aldiouma Sow of Pastef defends President Faye’s dialogue, refutes Cap Manuel ‘secret pact’ claims