Yesterday, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was inaugurated as Senagase’s fifth president and he unfolded a pan-African agenda.
The 44-year-old former tax inspector was inaugurated before a large crowd and a cross-section of leaders including President Bola Ahmed TInubu, who is chairman of Heads of Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Faye defeated Amadou Ba, the candidate of President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition, by a landslide in the first round of voting.
Faye got 54 per cent votes to Ba’s 32 per cent. His victory reflected high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million.
Faye promised to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence and to spare no effort to achieve African unity”.
“The results of the election showed a profound desire for change,” Faye said after taking the oath of office.
“Senegal will be a country of hope, at peace, with an independent justice system and a stronger democracy,” he added.
Some of the heads of state at the inauguration include 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.
