Opposition head will lead Senegal
Faye, 44, is elected president
DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal’s little-known, 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye was named the country’s next president on Monday, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election.
While official results of Sunday’s vote were not yet available, the former prime minister who was the other front-runner, and who was backed by incumbent President Macky Sall, conceded defeat based on preliminary results. Sall followed with congratulations, also naming Faye as the winner.
Faye’s victory reflected frustration among youths with high unemployment and concerns about governance in the West African nation. In his first speech delivered as president-elect late Monday, the former tax inspector promised a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election.
“I pledge to govern with humility and transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels. I pledge to devote myself fully to rebuilding our institutions,” he said, restating promises made during his campaign.
Faye, who was backed by popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, has vowed to improve Senegal’s control over its natural resources by promoting national companies to prevent the country from falling into what his campaign called “economic enslavement.” He ran in the place of his close ally Sonko, who was barred from running due to a prior conviction.
Sonko was also released on March 14 after months in prison to jubilant celebrations in the capital, following the president’s announcement of a political amnesty.
Sall, who triggered violent protests earlier this year when he unsuccessfully tried to postpone the election until the end of the year, described the outcome of the vote as a victory for Senegal. His former prime minister and the loser in the race, Amadou Ba, wished Faye success in a statement shared by his campaign team.
The election on Sunday followed months of unrest ignited by Faye and Sonko’s arrest last year, and concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits. The violence shook Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region that has seen a wave of coups. Rights groups said dozens were killed in the protests, while some 1,000 people were jailed.
The expected winner of the election, Faye is a former tax collector and was little known until Sonko named him as his heir.
Faye’s roots lie in a small town in central Senegal. He is a practicing Muslim, and has two wives. Ahead of Sunday’s election, Faye published a declaration of his assets, and called on other candidates to do the same. It lists a home in Dakar, and land outside the capital and in his hometown. His bank accounts hold roughly $6,600.
“I would even say that he is more honest than me. I place the project in his hands,” Sonko told supporters at a joint news conference in March of last year.