- Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a former tax collector, is Senegal’s president-elect.
- Faye has promised to embark on a fresh chapter in Senegal’s leadership following months of political violence and arrests of opposition leaders.
- Outgoing President Macky Sall has termed the outcome of Sunday’s vote, which saw his preferred candidate Amadou Ba defeated, a victory for Senegal.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a former tax collector, has promised a new chapter in Senegal’s future following his victory in the bitterly contested presidential election in Senegal held on Sunday.
Bassirou Faye, 44, was declared winner having rode on a wave of frustration among the young voters, who are grappling with a high rate of joblessness as well as deep concerns about the current state of governance in the West African country of 18 million people.
Speaking to the nation as president-elect on Monday, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, promised to embark on a fresh chapter in Senegal’s leadership following months of political violence and the arrest of leading political figures in the country under the administration of outgoing President Macky Sall.
“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,” Bassirou Faye said.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye was one of the victims of Macky Sall’s assault on opposition leaders and he was only released from prison just two weeks before the elections.
Bassirou Faye’s fellow opposition heavyweight, Ousmane Sonko was released from prison on March 14 under a presidential amnesty plan following months of incarceration. Ousmane Sonko was, however, barred from running owing to his prior conviction.
Faye, who was supported by popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, has pledged to enhance Senegal’s control over its abundant natural resources by providing an opportunity for Senegal-based companies to take a leading role in industrialization to avoid what he labeled as “economic enslavement” during his election campaigns.
Although agriculture is the economic mainstay of Senegal, the country has huge deposists of phosphates, gold, iron ore, limestone and natural gas. Recent oil finds off the coast of Senegal as well as in neighbouring Mauritania offer great investment prospects for the nation.
Outgoing President Sall has termed the outcome of Sunday’s vote, which saw his preferred candidate Amadou Ba defeated, a victory for Senegal. Amadou Ba as well as the other candidates who were running against Bassirou Faye have conceded defeat and called in to congratulate him.
How Bassirou Diomaye Faye rode to victory
Bassirou Faye’s campaign website says that he graduated from high school in 2000 and proceeded to study law and later a master’s degree from Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University. On or around 2004, he specialized as a tax inspector while studying at the prestigious National School of Administration in Senegal, a centre of excellence that trains the country’s top civil servants.
Bassirou Faye was, however, thrown behind bars in April last year upon which the authorities pressed several charges against him including defaming magistrates as well as contempt of court, charges which he has denied.
Interestingly, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested months later, a move that left Bassirou Faye convinced that all these machinations were part of a ploy by President Macky Sall’s administration to choke the formidable opposition candidates during the polls.
As fate would have it, Bassirou Faye managed to pass all requirements to vie in the elections while in prison despite a spirited tackle by Amadou Ba to stop him in the courts.
Finally, an alliance of over 100 political parties, including Senegal’s former prime minister Aminata Toure and Ousmane Sonko joined forces to back Bassirou Faye under the banner “Doimaye mooy Sonko”, which translates to “Diomaye is Sonko.”
While endorsing Faye, fiery opposition figure Sonko said, “My choice of Diomaye is not a choice from the heart but from reason. I chose him because he meets the criteria that I have defined. He is competent and has attended the most prestigious school in Senegal.”
“No one can say he is not honest. I would even say that he is more honest than me. I entrust the project into his hands,” Sonko added.
Upon the duo’s release from prison earlier this month under an amnesty law that was passed to cool political tensions in the country, Sonko and Bassirou Faye traversed the country, drawing huge crowds leading up to the polls on Sunday.
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