After years of deadly unrest, left-wing pan-Africanist Bassirou Diomaye Faye became Senegal’s youngest president on Tuesday. He announced the appointment of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko as prime minister and promised structural reform.
The 44-year-old Faye has never held elected office before. Merely ten days after being freed from prison, he easily won the first round of elections on the platform of radical change.
In front of numerous African heads of state and hundreds of officials, he took the oath of office at an exposition center in the new town of Diamniadio, which is close to Dakar.
Then he made his way back to the capital, where hundreds of happy citizens lined the avenues leading to the presidential palace to greet his vehicle.
Before departing the palace, Macky Sall, his predecessor, gave Faye the key to the presidential residence as a symbolic gesture.
Earlier in the day, Faye had declared, “Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfil the office of President of the Republic of Senegal.”
Sonko, the fiery leader of the opposition, was named prime minister by his new government just hours later.
The general secretary of the presidency, Oumar Samba Ba, announced on the state television station RTS, “Mr. Ousmane Sonko is named prime minister.”
Sonko, 49, was at the center of a violent unrest-instigating two-year standoff with the authorities. He chose Faye to replace him on the presidential ballot after being disqualified from the most recent contest.
The former tax inspector is the first to publicly acknowledge being in a polygamous marriage and the fifth president of Senegal since the country’s 1960 separation from France.
Faye made a brief address following the taking of the presidential oath, saying, “I am aware that the results of the ballot box express a profound desire for systemic change.”
“Senegal will be a peaceful nation with an independent judiciary and a strengthened democracy under my leadership,” he continued.
A group of opposition lawmakers, including Faye and Sonko, were released from prison ten days prior to the presidential election on March 24 as part of an amnesty declared by former president Macky Sall. Sall had attempted to postpone the vote.
In reference to the previous three years of political turmoil that resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests, Faye stated on Tuesday, “I have painful memories of the martyrs of Senegalese democracy, the amputees, the wounded, and the former prisoners.”
He continued, “I will never forget the great sacrifices made in order to never let you down.”
“Senegal’s openness to trade that respects our sovereignty and meets the aspirations of our people, in a mutually beneficial partnership,” Faye further reaffirmed to her foreign counterparts.
Often referred to as “the honorable one,” or Diomaye, he won the election with 54.3 percent of the vote thanks to his pledge of drastic reform.
Sworn in, Senegal’s president promotes the security and unity of Africa
Faye: Senegal is entering a new age.
JUST IN: Tinubu departs for Senegal on Tuesday to attend Faye’s inauguration.
Faye’s campaign prioritized battling corruption, relieving the cost-of-living crisis, and promoting national healing while collaborating with his populist mentor Sonko.
Additionally, he has pledged to reclaim national sovereignty over vital resources including the fishery, oil, and gas industries.
Later this year, Senegal is expected to begin producing hydrocarbons.
Faye also wants to increase agricultural investment in order to achieve food self-sufficiency and replace the CFA franc, which he views as a remnant of French colonialism, with a new regional currency.
Washington, Paris, the African Union, and the European Union have all praised his democratic win, which came about after three turbulent years in the historically stable country.
On the global scene, Faye aims to reintegrate Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—all under military rule—into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) group.
He called for “more solidarity” amongst African nations “in the face of security challenges” on Tuesday.
The president of Guinea, General Mamady Doumbouya, was among the delegates dispatched to Diamniadio by the military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
Leader of Burkina Faso Captain Ibrahim Traore stated that Faye’s mandate was a “symbol of a new era for an uninhibited, free and sovereign Africa” on X, the former Twitter.
“The renovation of sub-regional and international cooperation” was something he was prepared to collaborate on, he continued.
a new wave of politicians
Faye, a devout Muslim from a low-income family with two spouses and four kids, embodies a new wave of young politicians.
He has expressed his appreciation for Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid hero, and former US President Barack Obama.
But Faye and the government he will soon lead are up against formidable odds.
The largest seems to be producing enough jobs in a country where the official unemployment rate is 20% and 75% of the 18 million people live under 35.
Many young Senegalese have decided to risk their lives in order to join migrants who are trying to reach Europe since the economic prospects at home are so bad.
