Senegal's top court confirms Faye as president-elect

Senegal's leading opposition figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye was confirmed as the President-elect by the country's top court on Friday.

Senegal's Constitutional Council announced official results that gave Faye a clear lead, with 54.28% of the vote in the first round of presidential elections held last week, avoiding the need for a second round.

Former Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Ba came in second, with 35.79% of the vote, according to the Council. The Council said other candidates had also raised no objection to the outcome.

Faye to be Senegal's youngest-ever president

The 44-year-old Faye is set to be sworn in as president on Tuesday in the city of Diamniadio. He is then scheduled to go to the presidential palace in Dakar for the handover of power from outgoing president, Macky Sall.

He will become the youngest-ever president of the West African country and the first opposition candidate to win the vote in the first round since independence in 1960.

Faye was being held in jail just days before the election, along with Senegal's foremost opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

Both were released before the vote, but Sonko was disqualified from running for the presidency over a defamation conviction that he has called politically motivated.

Test for Senegal's democratic stability

Senegal saw violent riots and protests in the run-up to the March 24 election.

These were sparked by the arrest of Sonko and the attempt by President Sall to delay the vote until the end of the year.

There had been much speculation over whether Sall would seek a third term despite a constitutional limit of two terms.

He was accused of clinging onto power, but he paved the way for a peaceful transition when he declared Faye the winner as the provisional results showed his clear lead following last week's election.

The government-backed candidate Amadou Ba also conceded to Faye last week.

Senegal, a country of 17 million people, has seen its reputation as an oasis of stability in West Africa — a region plagued by recurring coups in recent years — somewhat tarnished due to the pre-election violence.

Correction from April 2, 2024: A previous version of this article included a photo that was incorrectly labeled as depicting president-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The picture has now been replaced and corrected. We apologize for the error.

rm/ab (Reuters, AFP)