With Ousmane Sonko, it is a new Senegal which takes its source from the alternation of March 24, 2024. All the old historical parties which made the political history of Senegal, have worn the macabre shroud which marks the end of an epic policy. The Socialist Party (PS), the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), the Alliance of Forces of Progress (AFP) and the Alliance for the Republic (APR) considered to be the oldest political parties still active with regular bodies, ceased to exist the day the radical party, Le Pastef, took power. Sonko's rise during the presidential election and his confirmation during the legislative elections sounded the death knell for the historic parties.
They were the most powerful parties in Senegal. And one of them, the Senegalese Democratic Party, was one of the opposition parties which changed the balance of power in the democratic game and debate. Abdoulaye Wade is a charismatic leader in Africa and he remains for several generations a reference in political matters. The PDS is like the Socialist Party of Senegal which was the first party in power with Léopold Sédar Senghor and Lamine Gueye who are major political figures of the 20th century. And we can easily attach to these two political monuments, new parties which have taken up the political torch.
The Alliance of Forces of Progress (AFP) founded by Moustapha Niasse in 1999, was born from the flanks of the Socialist Party. And this party is one of the actors of the first political change in Senegal. This party even supported Macky Sall in the fall of Abdoulaye Wade in 2012.
Macky Sall's party, the Alliance Pour la République (APR) born in 2008, formed by dissidents from Wade's PDS, will rule Senegal for 12 years until the arrival of the Party of African Patriots of Senegal for Labor , Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) by Ousmane Sonko who erases everything in his path. The PS survived the PDS and the latter survived the APR. but none of these parties will survive PASTEF.
Wherever Sonko goes, no party survives. The Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) has been nothing but a shadow of itself since March 24, 2024. The party inherited by Karim by the sole will of his father Abdoulaye Wade is no longer what it was. Certainly the party headquarters is visible on the VDN but the premises resemble a haunted castle with large empty rooms and political bodies which are irregular. Unconditional fans of the old Abdoulaye Wade have split to protest against the opaque management of Karim Wade. But the latter remains deaf and witnesses the destruction of the oldest opposition party in Africa.
Macky Sall's APR will suffer the same fate as Wade's PDS. Macky Sall stubbornly wanted to be the sole master of this party. Unfortunately this party will be the worst enemy of the current Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko. The latter, throughout his time in opposition, accused the APR of being an entity in the pay of imperialism and neo-colonialism. And since Sonko's PASTEF took power, the APR has become the main target of the ruling party. Which pushed several of its political leaders to transhumance. The APR is as if emptied of its substance.
And the APR is not the only party in this case. All the major parties are dying since Sonko took power. They have all become non-existent. The Socialist Party is almost dead. The AFP is living its last moments. The PDS has completely exploded. And the APR in the hands of two peeled 3 shorn. The Leader of the APR, Macky Sall, is absent from the territory. The leader of the PDS, Karim Wade, has not set foot in Senegal for 8 years. The PS no longer has a leader. And the AFP is looking for a leader. So how can these parties, which no longer have a leader, stand up to a party as powerful as PASTEF?
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