A youthful challenger to Senegal’s president has been elected.
Before receiving the support of Ousmane Sonko, the most formidable opposition leader in Senegal, 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye was relatively unknown. Both males were very recently released from prison days ago. Unexpectedly, a young political outsider supported by a prominent opposition figure won Senegal’s presidential election just ten days after being freed from prison, thanks to the concession of his primary opponent.
Senegalese opposition leader and divisive figure Ousmane Sonko has installed Bassirou Diomaye Faye as his running mate.
It was Monday that Mr. Faye’s primary opponent, Amadou Ba of the ruling party, issued a statement congratulating his opponent on his first-round victory.
On Monday, Mr. Faye celebrated his 44th birthday. He will become the youngest president in the history of the western African nation.
The allegations of slander and contempt of court had him incarcerated while he awaited trial.
“I hope he has a prosperous presidency, for the benefit of the people of Senegal,” Mr. Ba stated in a statement released on Monday afternoon, addressing Mr. Faye in his capacity as president.
Though the final result has not been declared by the national electoral body just yet, Mr. Ba’s concession came after local media reported that Mr. Faye had received over half of the vote, therefore eliminating the need for a rerun.
Mr. Faye and Mr. Sonko have enchanted the younger generation with their scathing criticisms of political elites, promises to renegotiate contracts with oil and gas firms, and the concept of “monetary sovereignty” (Senegal is one of fourteen nations that utilize the CFA, a French-backed currency pegged to the euro).
Macky Sall, president of Senegal, supported Mr. Ba, who resigned as prime minister to run for office. After two terms, Mr. Sall remained mum on the question of whether he would seek reelection.
Almost as abruptly as he reversed course, he canceled the February election, plunging the nation into anarchy. Partying started at 8 p.m. on Sunday in Senegal’s coastal capital Dakar, long before many polling places had a chance to tally the results.
Amid a symphony of horns and cries of “Get out, Amadou Ba!”, revellers swarmed into cars and motorcycles, waved flags, danced, and cranked up the volume. Mr. Faye was not the sole victor, though.
Many of the Senegalese who voted for him did so just to support Mr. Faye rather than the raging orator Mr. Sonko, who was imprisoned and forbidden from running.
An ex-tax collector named Mr. Faye went to jail for defamation and contempt of court after accusing magistrates of trying to get Mr. Sonko, who had been convicted of defamation and, separately, corrupting a child, for raping a young massage parlor worker, to stop him from pursuing a case against magistrates.
A vote for Mr. Faye, who is widely known as Diomaye, was a vote for Mr. Sonko, as he has emphasized time and again. On display everywhere were posters reading “Diomaye is Sonko” beside images of the two men’s cheery, young faces. This was in sharp contrast to the events of the past two months, when the very validity of the election was repeatedly called into question.
It was shocking news for the country when Mr. Sall abruptly called off the election in early February, citing corruption charges that warranted an investigation by the Constitutional Council, the highest court in the country. The police then took over Parliament, ejecting the opposition legislators, to ensure that legislation that confirmed Mr. Sall’s judgment could be passed.
The subsequent controversy led to the constitutional council ruling that the delay was invalid, and Mr. Sall made a U-turn.
He consented to convene the election promptly and even freed Mr. Sonko and Mr. Faye from prison, enabling them to conduct a flurry of campaigns in just ten days.
What many perceived as evidence of Senegal’s (a country in a difficult region) democracy’s durability was, in fact, the turn of events.
Among West African nations that have recently had coups, Senegal stands out as a bastion of democracy and somewhat stable politics, in contrast to others like Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.
Mr. Sonko has gained a large following in the last five years by criticizing Senegal’s political elites and appealing to the political and ideologically charged idea of “sovereignty,” while targeting the country’s youthful population (half of which is under the age of 19). Moreover, young people have taken action.
Authorities have brutally repressed thousands of demonstrators who had flocked to the streets in favor of Mr. Sonko, killing several.
Young men have also recently assumed leadership roles in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad, all of which are located in West Africa. Nevertheless, they have seized control through coercion.
From Sunday night into Monday, the opposition candidates congratulated Mr. Faye as they handed up their concessions. At first, Mr. Ba’s side maintained that a runoff was the saddest possible outcome. But by the time it was Monday afternoon, he broke down.
