Senegal’s youngest president takes oath in front of his African peers

Left-wing pan-Africanist Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected on the promise of breaking with the system in place, was sworn in on Tuesday as the fifth president of Senegal after a lightning rise, facing challenges as considerable as the hopes placed in him.

“Before God and before the Senegalese Nation, I swear to faithfully fulfill the office of President of the Republic of Senegal, to observe as well as to scrupulously observe the provisions of the Constitution and the laws,” declared Mr. Faye, hand right raised, in front of hundreds of Senegalese officials and several heads of state and African leaders at the Exhibition Center in the new town of Diamniadio, near Dakar.

Mr. Faye, in a blue suit and confident words and appearance, swore before the Constitutional Council to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence, to finally spare no effort for the achievement of African unity ”.

Mr. Faye, never elected before, becomes at 44 the fifth and youngest president of the West African country since independence in 1960.

The transfer of power between MM. Sall and Faye will take place in the afternoon at the presidential palace in Dakar.

This alternation at the polls, the third in the history of Senegal, marks the end of a three-year standoff between Mr. Sall and the winning duo of the presidential election of March 24: Mr. Faye and the one who, disqualified , dubbed him, Ousmane Sonko.

– New generation of politicians –

Nicknamed “Diomaye” (“the honorable” in Serer), Mr. Faye is a practicing Muslim, married to two women – he is the first polygamous Senegalese president – ​​and has four children. The man with the youthful face embodies a new generation of young politicians.

The promise of rupture, the anointing of Ousmane Sonko and the apparent humility of this personality from a modest and educated background led him to a resounding victory in the first round of the presidential election with 54.28% of the votes. , just 10 days after his release from prison.

Hailed by Paris, Washington and the African Union, his election, celebrated by jubilant crowds, was preceded by three years of tensions which left dozens of people dead.

Senegal, known as an island of stability in West Africa, went through a new crisis in February when President Sall decreed the postponement of the presidential election.

An admirer of former American President Barack Obama and the South African hero of the anti-apartheid struggle Nelson Mandela, Mr. Faye calls himself a “left-wing” pan-Africanist and advocates the rebalancing of international partnerships.

Senegal will remain an ally “for any partner who engages with us in virtuous, respectful and mutually productive cooperation,” he said after his election.

He wants to work for the return to ECOWAS of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Sahelian countries led by juntas which broke with the former French colonial power and turned towards Russia.

– Political and social front –

This senior official of the tax administration, who discreetly climbed the ranks in the shadow of Mr. Sonko, mentioned his priority projects after his victory: “reducing the cost of living”, “fighting corruption” and “national reconciliation”. It highlights the sovereignty of the country.

Brought to power by the desire for change, he will have to face significant challenges. His concrete plans remain unclear, as does the place given to Mr. Sonko.

He will first have to appoint a government, which will be composed of “Senegalese men and women from the interior and the diaspora known for their competence, their integrity and their patriotism,” he indicated.

Not having a majority in the Assembly, it should be forced to form alliances to pass laws before a possible dissolution.

It is particularly expected on the employment front, in a country where 75% of the population is under 35 and where the unemployment rate is officially 20%, pushing more and more young people to flee poverty and to undertake a perilous journey to Europe.

Mr. Sall, for his part, was appointed special envoy of the Paris Pact for people and the planet, created to fight poverty, preserve the planet and support vulnerable countries, and will take office at the end of his mandate, according to its services.

In a press release published Monday, he said he would remain president of his party, the Alliance for the Republic, and asked its members to draw up an “objective assessment” of the presidential election with a view to a “relaunch” of the organization. .

LNT with Afp