Senegal’s opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, was appointed the country’s next leader, becoming the fifth and youngest president, after his main rival Amadou Ba admitted defeat following Sunday’s vote in the first round of the presidential election, according to African media.
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.
Faye, who was backed by popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, promised to improve Senegal’s control over its natural resources by promoting national companies to prevent “economic enslavement.” He ran instead of Sonko because the latter was barred from running for president due to a previous criminal record.
Sonko was released on 14 March after several months in prison following the announcement of a political amnesty by the President. Outgoing Macky Sall called the outcome of the vote a victory for Senegal. His former prime minister and race defeater Amadou Ba wished Faye success in a statement released by his campaign team.
Sunday’s election followed months of unrest sparked by the arrest of Faye and Sonko last year and fears that the president would run for a third term despite constitutional term limits. The violence has shaken Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region that has experienced a wave of coups.
Alioune Tine, founder of the Afrikajom Centre, a Senegalese think tank, argued that the vote proved that the country would survive after a difficult year that undermined the population’s faith in democracy.
“From prison to the presidential palace. The only country in Africa capable of withstanding a disease of its democracy that has shaken all its institutions, profoundly shaken its society, only to recover from it.”
According to observers, voting was generally peaceful and had a high turnout. Preliminary counts showed that an overwhelming majority of voters favoured the opposition.
Over 7 million people were registered to vote in a country of approximately 17 million people. Candidates needed more than 50 per cent of the vote to win. It was the fourth democratic transfer of power in Senegal since gaining independence from France over six decades ago.
International analysts said the change of leadership in Senegal would be a relief after months of violence, but raised new questions about the new government’s foreign policy at a time when the West African country was becoming an oil and gas producer. On Monday night, Faye outlined some top foreign policy priorities, including reforming the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS.
Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Centre for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, noted that a promise to move away from former colonial power France could define the foreign policy of the country’s new government.
In neighbouring Sahel countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where military coups have recently taken place, sentiment has also turned against France. Governments have cut off military co-operation with France, turning to Russia for support instead.
