An Opposition Victory
Senegal’s Court of Appeals has released preliminary results from the nations March 24th Presidential election, which show opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye securing 54.28% of the vote, meaning he is set to win the Presidency in a first round victory. In order to win the election one candidate must win 50% or more of the vote, which he has surpassed.
In second place is Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the ruling party’s candidate, who secured 35.47% of the vote. PM Ba conceded on March 25th, the day after the election, after results showed Bassirou securing a majority.
The results released are preliminary, and the Court of Appeals is expected to release official and final results on Friday, March 29th.
None of the 17 other candidates on the electoral list garnered more than 3% of the vote, meaning the race was only feasibly between Bassirou and PM Ba.
Bassirou had to run as an independent, due to the party he is a member of, PASTEF, having been dissolved by the Senegalese government in July of 2023.
Victory Promises
In Bassirou’s first speech after his victory was announced, he has promised again to fight corruption as well as make reforms to Senegal’s economy.
Senegal has a number of natural resources which give it strong economic potential, however the nation’s economy is bogged down by rampant corruption. There are concerns amongst much of the population that the average person is not benefiting from a number of these strong mining and construction industries.
As a part of Senegal’s natural resource development, the nation is set to start producing oil and gas this year. However again there are concerns among many that the populace will not benefit from the employment opportunities provided by such projects as they could. One of Bassirou’s campaign promises was to renegotiate many of these mining and energy contracts in order to better benefit the populace.
President-Elect Faye has additionally promised to tackle youth unemployment in the country, a large problem in Senegal where more than half of the population is 25 years old or younger. He also promises to renegotiate oil, energy, mining, and defence contracts with foreign companies, a potential departure from the West African Franc (a regional currency which is tied to the Euro and backed by France. Bassirou’s key supporter, Ousmane Sonko, has said the departure will only happen if the currency is unable to be reformed), as well as a re-examination with the nations’ relationship with France, their former colonial power.
Congratulations for the soon to be President, who was only released from jail two weeks ago, have poured in both domestically and internationally.
A long form analysis of the election, the long and tumultuous lead up, on Bassirou and of Senegal’s future may be read here.
