Senegal has inaugurated Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its president, marking a remarkable journey for the previously little-known opposition figure from prison to the palace in just weeks.
Faye, a left-wing pan-Africanist, was sworn in on Tuesday after winning a first-round victory in the March 24 elections on a reform platform. At 44, he is Senegal’s youngest president.
“Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfil the office of president of the Republic of Senegal,” Faye said in Diamniadio, near the capital, Dakar.
He pledged to “scrupulously observe the provisions of the constitution and the laws” and to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence and to spare no effort to achieve African unity”.
The formal handover of power with outgoing President Macky Sall will take place at the presidential palace in Dakar.
Faye, along with popular opposition figure and mentor Ousmane Sonko, was released from prison less than two weeks before the vote following a political amnesty announced by Sall.
“It’s the culmination of a long struggle for democracy and the rule of law,” said Aissata Sagna, 39, a factory worker who worked on Faye’s campaign. “This is a day of celebration for us, even if we have lost young people killed during the demonstrations.”
The election tested Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in West Africa, following months of unrest sparked by concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits. Faye campaigned on promises to clean up corruption and better manage Senegal’s natural resources, appealing to young people frustrated with widespread unemployment and critical of France's relationship with Senegal.
In his first speech as president-elect, Faye – commonly known as Diomaye, or “the honourable one” in the local Serer language – promised to fight corruption and reform the economy.
A practicing Muslim from a small town, Faye has two wives, both of whom were present at the inauguration. Before the election, he released a declaration of his assets to show transparency and called on other candidates to do the same, listing a home in Dakar and land outside the capital and in his hometown, with roughly $6,600 in his bank accounts.
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