DAKAR, (Reuters) – Senegal’s once jailed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in yesterday as the West African nation’s fifth and youngest president ever, promising to restore stability and bring economic progress.
The 44-year-old former tax inspector defeated Amadou Ba, the candidate of outgoing President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition, by a landslide in the first round of voting, reflecting high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million.
“The results of the election showed a profound desire for change,” Faye said after taking the oath of office at a ceremony he attended with his two wives.
Over a dozen heads of state and regional representatives attended the inauguration, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger also sent representatives.
The smooth transition was a welcome boost after three years of unprecedented political turmoil in Senegal that had raised concern about democratic backsliding in the coup-prone region of West Africa, where juntas have seized power and cut ties with traditional Western allies in favour of Russia.
“Senegal will be a country of hope, at peace, with an independent justice system and a stronger democracy,” Faye said, promising to manage affairs ethically and to build the economy.
Millions queued for hours to cast their ballot in an election that eventually took place on March 24 after unsuccessful attempts by Sall’s government to postpone it from February to December, then June.
