Senegal: celebration erupts as opposition candidate Faye nears victory in presidential vote

Senegal’s leading opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Monday (25 March) appeared to be reaching victory in the country’s delayed presidential election, as people have already taken to the streets in celebration of the end of incumbent President Macky Sall’s administration.
The 44-year-old opposition candidate and tax inspector Bassirou Diomaye Faye appears to be reaching victory in Senegal’s presidential election that was held in the West African nation of 17 million people on Sunday (24 March). At least seven opposition candidates have already congratulated Faye after he appeared to be ahead in preliminary tallies, though the ruling coalition responded cautiously, anticipating a potential run-off. Many youths have taken to the streets of the capital, Dakar, in celebration of the prospect of having Faye as president. According to the country’s constitution, a presidential candidate must secure at least 50% of the votes to avoid a run-off.

The palpable excitement is in anticipation of the exit of President Macky Sall’s administration that, in many opinions, failed to ease the hardship of the West African country. Sall is leaving the country’s highest office following a second term marred by controversy with the trial of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and suspicions that the president intended to exceed the constitutional limit on his powers. In his campaign, Faye had promised voters profound change, to fight corruption, prioritize Senegal’s economic sovereignty and presidential program of left-wing pan-Africanism.