Source: AFP
Opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye comfortably won Senegal’s presidential election with 54.28 percent of the vote in the first round, according to official provisional results on Wednesday.
He ran well ahead of the ruling coalition candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba, who garnered 35.79 percent.
The victory of Faye, who was released from prison just 10 days before the election, still needs to be ratified by Senegal’s top constitutional body, which could happen within days.
Faye, 44, who has said she wants a “break” with the current political system, is set to become the youngest president in Senegal’s history.
It would be the first time since independence from France in 1960 that an opponent has won in the first round.
Third-placed candidate Aliou Mamadou Dia won just 2.8 percent of the vote, according to figures read out in court in Dakar by the head of the national vote counting commission, Amady Diouf.
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While his victory in Sunday’s vote was already clear after the publication of unofficial partial results, Faye’s margin of victory was confirmed by the vote counting committee, which comes under the judiciary.
The turnout of 61.30 percent was less than in 2019 when President Macky Sall won a second term in the first round, but more than in 2012.
Source: AFP
The announcement of official provisional results appears to pave the way for a handover of power between outgoing president Macky Sall and his successor.
The political crisis caused by Sall’s last-minute postponement of the vote and the subsequent rushed election timetable cast doubt on whether the handover could take place before the incumbent governor’s term officially ends on April 2.
But a swift handover now appears possible in the West African nation, which prides itself on its stability and democratic principles in a coup-hit region, provided no appeals are made.
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Presidential candidates have 72 hours after the committee announces the results to appeal to the Constitutional Council.
The Constitution states that if no appeals are made within this period, “the Council shall immediately announce the final results of the vote.”
But if an objection is made, the Council has five days to decide and could, in theory, annul the election.
“Humility, Transparency”
Faye, who has never been elected before, is set to become the fifth president of the West African country of about 18 million people.
His fellow presidential candidates and outgoing President Sall acknowledged his victory.
Sunday’s election was preceded by three years of tension and deadly unrest, with Senegal plunged into fresh political crisis in February when Sall decided to delay presidential elections.
Dozens have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021, with the country’s democratic credentials under scrutiny.
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Faye herself was held for months before his release amid an election campaign.
International observers hailed the smooth conduct of Sunday’s vote.
Faye has promised to “break” with the current political system, restore national “sovereignty” and implement a program of “left pan-Africanism”.
His election could herald a profound overhaul of Senegal’s institutions.
Faye on Monday pledged “to govern with humility, with transparency and to fight corruption at all levels”.
He said he would prioritize “national reconciliation”, “rebuilding institutions” and “significantly reducing the cost of living”.
But he also tried to reassure the foreign partners.
Senegal “will remain a friendly country and a sure and reliable ally for every partner that works with us in virtuous, respectful and mutually productive cooperation,” he said.
Source: AFP