Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has urged his supporters to respond “proportionally” following what he describes as a series of violent clashes targeting his Pastef party during the current parliamentary election campaign.
Sonko, in office since April, attributed the incidents to backers of Barthelemy Dias, the mayor of Dakar and leader of a rival political coalition. The prime minister detailed attacks in the capital Dakar, Saint-Louis in the north, and Koungheul in central Senegal. He has accused Dias’s supporters of employing “knives, sabres, and tear gas” in confrontations with Pastef members, with no arrests reportedly made following the violence.
Dias, who was convicted of homicide in 2011 amid political unrest, leads the opposition coalition Samm Sa Kaddu, which is vying for parliamentary seats in the upcoming election. In a Facebook post, Sonko asserted that Pastef supporters “must avenge” every act of aggression and declared that Dias’s coalition “should no longer campaign in this country.”
The prime minister’s remarks come just days before the national parliamentary elections on Sunday, in which the ruling Pastef party is striving to secure a majority. The vote follows President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s decision in September to dissolve the opposition-dominated parliament, clearing the path for Pastef to pursue its agenda of social justice reforms, economic transformation, and anti-corruption efforts.
Sonko also criticized the state’s response to recent violence, calling the lack of arrests a “bankruptcy of state authority” and warning that his party might take matters into its own hands if authorities fail to intervene. “A state must not be weak,” he said in a recent video, urging the government to prevent further escalation.
In response, Dias’s coalition accused Sonko of attempting to “muzzle democracy” due to fear of electoral defeat, holding him responsible for any harm befalling their members. “Ousmane Sonko is trying to create a climate of fear,” the Samm Sa Kaddu coalition wrote in a statement on social media, claiming they, too, have faced attacks during the campaign.
Senegal’s election campaign has seen increasing tension and violence. On October 30, clashes erupted between opposition and government supporters in Koungheul, where Sonko’s convoy was reportedly attacked. Earlier, an opposition party office in Dakar was targeted by unknown assailants, who damaged vehicles, shattered windows, and started a fire.
As Senegal approaches election day, political analysts warn that ongoing hostilities could further disrupt the electoral process and deepen divisions in the country’s political landscape.
