Senegal News: In Senegal, little known opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has been named as the country’s next president, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election.
While official results of Sunday’s vote were not yet available, the former Prime Minister who was the other frontrunner, and who was backed by incumbent President Macky Sall, conceded defeat based on preliminary results. Sall followed with congratulations, also naming 44-year old Faye as the winner.
In his first speech delivered as president-elect, the former tax inspector promised a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election. More than 7 million people were registered to vote in a country of roughly 17 million.
To win, candidates had to secure more than 50 percent of the vote. It was Senegal’s fourth democratic transfer of power since gaining independence from France in 1960.