Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a 44-year-old tax officer, is poised to become Senegal’s president.
Faye, the opposition party’s head, ran in the presidential election on Sunday alongside 18 other candidates after three years of unrest and protests against the West African country’s incumbent president, Macky Sall.
Early poll results showed the opposition leader with a substantial lead, prompting spontaneous celebrations in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
Five competitors, including the lone female contender, Anta Babacar Ngom, have declared Faye the winner of the election. However, Amadou Ba, the ruling coalition’s candidate, has stated that a runoff election may be required to declare the winner.
If proclaimed winner, the 44-year-old contender will become West Africa’s youngest democratically elected president.
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Who is Bassirou Diomaye Faye?
Faye, born in 1980 in Ndiaganiao, Senegal, earned his baccalaureate (university bachelor’s degree) in 2000. He later earned a master’s degree in law and passed competitive tests to join the National School of Administration (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004.
After graduating, he chose to work as a tax inspector in the Tax and Estates Department.
Faye’s relationship with Ousmane Sonko, an ENA alumnus, got stronger in 2014 as they worked together to form the Taxes and Estates Union.
During his tenure as president of the union, the frontline presidential candidate advocated for homeownership facilitation for tax and property agents.
Faye, who was first a guest during the launch of PASTEF, swiftly rose to prominence inside the party. He was one of the ideologues and program creators for Sonko’s 2019 presidential campaign, in which he received over 16% of the vote and finished third.
Following Sonko’s incarceration in February 2021, Faye took over as PASTEF’s general secretary. He was instrumental in unifying the opposition for the 2022 elections, forming the ‘Liberate the People’ alliance, which gained 56 seats.
Despite the fact that the party had been dissolved and Sonko was detained, PASTEF nominated Faye as their presidential candidate for 2024. His candidacy was validated because he had never been convicted.
The Senegalese Constitutional Council issued the final list of candidates on January 20, 2024, removing Sonko following multiple court challenges. Sonko then expressed his support for Faye.
Faye’s first public appearance as a presidential candidate, on March 15, 2024, drew hundreds of supporters, just one day after his release from jail.
Former President Abdoulaye Wade and his Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) have endorsed Faye, increasing his prospects of winning the election. This endorsement came after PDS candidate Karim Wade was removed from the campaign owing to dual citizenship difficulties during his candidacy submission.
Early presidential election results showed Faye coasting to victory. It is unclear how many of the 15,633 voting places have been counted thus far. The final preliminary results are expected by Tuesday.