Senegal’s Opposition Candidate Wins More Than 53% Of The Vote In Presidential Election
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a relatively unknown 44-year-old opposition leader, has secured approximately 53.7% of the votes in Senegal’s presidential election, according to the country’s electoral commission as reported by Reuters on Monday.
Meanwhile, the ruling coalition candidate, Amadou Bataking, received 36.2% of the votes. These provisional results are based on vote tallies from 90% of the polling stations.
Faye is poised to become the next president of the West African nation, achieving this milestone in less than two weeks after being released from prison to participate in the election
According to the Senegalese News Agency (APS), the constitutional council will announce the results starting April 3rd.
According to BBC, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was announced in February as the so-called “Plan B” candidate, replacing the charismatic opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko.
Both men founded the now-disbanded Pastef party, both men are tax collectors, and both men were jailed last year on charges they said were politically motivated.
Sonko ended up being convicted of two offences, which meant he was barred from the election, so Faye stepped in.
The election was originally due last month but Senegal’s incumbent president Macky Sall postponed it just hours before campaigning was set to begin, triggering deadly opposition protests and a democratic crisis.
Most candidates had very little time to prepare once the new election date was set – but Faye had just over a week after being freed from jail.
Sall congratulated Faye on Monday, March 25, while the former prime minister who was the other frontrunner, and who was backed by incumbent President Sall, conceded defeat based on preliminary results.
Dioamaye Faye promised to rule with humility and protect Senegal from corruption and interference from foreign powers.
He also vowed to advance Africa’s political and economic integration and also pledged reliability to Senegal’s partners.
Faye’s performance reflected frustration among youth with high unemployment and concerns about governance in the West African nation.
Faye’s roots lie in a small town in central Senegal. He is a practising Muslim and has two wives.
He had been jailed on various charges, including defamation.
More than 7 million people were registered to vote in a country of roughly 17 million and the civil society observer group known as COSCE said voter turnout was over 61%. To win, candidates had to secure more than 50% of the vote.
Sunday’s election was also the first without a sitting president on the ballot after the introduction of term limits that barred Sall from seeking a third term.
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