Bastirou Diomaye Faye, 44, the leader of the opposition in Senegal, was named the country’s new president on Monday, less than two weeks after being freed from prison to contest in the election.
The second front-runner, the former prime minister, who was supported by the current president, Macky Sall, accepted defeat based on early results, even though official results from Sunday’s poll were not yet available. Sall congratulated him and announced Faye as the winner.
Youth dissatisfaction with high unemployment rates and worries about the country’s governance were evident in Faye’s triumph in West Africa. After months of unrest and several political arrests leading up to the election, the former tax inspector vowed a new chapter in his first speech as president-elect late on Monday.
“I promise to fight corruption at all levels and to lead with humility and honesty. He reiterated pledges made during his campaign, saying, “I promise to devote myself fully to rebuilding our institutions.”
With the support of well-liked opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, Faye has pledged to strengthen Senegal’s authority over its natural resources by encouraging domestic businesses to keep the nation out of what his campaign dubbed “economic enslavement.” He stood in for his close friend Sonko, who was disqualified from the race because of a past conviction.
Following the president’s declaration of a political amnesty, Sonko was also released from prison on March 14 amid joyous celebrations in the nation’s capital. He had spent months behind bars.
The result of the vote was seen as a win for Senegal by the departing president Sall, who incited violent protests earlier this year when he attempted in vain to push the election until the end of the year. In a statement released by his campaign team, Faye’s opponent and former prime minister, Amadou Ba, wished him well.
Following months of turmoil spurred by Faye and Sonko’s detention last year and worries that the president will run for office again despite constitutional term limits, there was an election on Sunday. In an area where coups have become more frequent, Senegal’s standing as a stable democracy was damaged by the bloodshed. According to rights groups, almost 1,000 people were arrested and hundreds of people died during the protests.
The expected winner of the election, Faye is a former tax collector and was little known until Sonko named him as his heir.
His 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. Weeks later, Faye was arrested and jailed on various charges, including defamation.
Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom Center, a Senegalese think tank, said the outcome of the vote proved Senegal would survive after a difficult year that had undermined the population’s faith in democracy.
“From prison to the presidential palace,” said Tine. “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.”
International analysts said a change in leadership in Senegal would come as a relief after months of violence, but raised new questions about the foreign policy of the new government at a time when the coastal nation is becoming an oil and gas producer.
On Monday night, Faye outlined some early foreign policy priorities, which included reforming the troubled West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS.
“A win by the opposition also means major changes ahead in domestic and foreign policies,” said Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, adding that a promise to move away from former colonial power France could define the foreign policy of the country’s new government.
Across neighbouring countries in the Sahel, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, that recently experienced military coups, sentiment has turned against France. The ruling juntas have ended military cooperation with France while turning instead to Russia for support.
The vote was largely peaceful with a high turnout, observers said. Early counts showed voters turned out overwhelmingly in favour of the opposition. Sonko promised a resounding victory on his YouTube channel. By the evening in Dakar, Faye had been declared the winner and celebrations erupted in Dakar.
In neighbourhoods around the capital, supporters danced, played music and set off fireworks until late at night.
“Our democracy will emerge stronger from these results,” said Ndeye Sow, 27. “We’re delighted, there was no violence here, serenity is the order of the day.”
More than 7 million people were registered to vote in a country of roughly 17 million. To win, candidates had to secure more than 50% of the vote. It was Senegal’s fourth democratic transfer of power since gaining independence from France more than six decades ago.
