Senegal: Newly Sworn In President Faye Names Fellow Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko As Prime Minister.

The Opposition pan-Africanist Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Tuesday became Senegal’s youngest president, pledging systemic change after years of deadly turmoil and announcing his mentor, fellow opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, as the country’s prime minister. Faye, who has never held any elected office before, won a first-round victory on a promise of radical reform just 10 days after being released from detention.

Faye took the presidential oath of office in the presence of several dignitaries and several African heads of state at conference center in the new town of Diamniadio, near Dakar. Later he was then returned to the capital, with his convoy saluted by thousands of jubilant residents who lined the road sides leading to the presidential palace where his predecessor, President Macky Sall, symbolically handed Faye 44, the key to the presidential quarters before exiting the palace.

Earlier in the day Faye, had take his oath of office and declared that “Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfil the office of President of the Republic of Senegal,”
However, hours later, the spokesperson of his new administration appointed his mentor and fellow opposition leader Sonko the new prime minister of the republic of Senegal. Oumar Samba Ba, the general secretary of the presidency announced that “Mr. Ousmane Sonko is named prime minister,”, as he read out the announcements on the public television station RTS.

Senegal’s New Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

Mr Sonko, 49yrs, was deeply involved in the two-year protests against the govt, that resulted into a serious civil unrest. Eventually he was disqualified from contesting in the past election and decided to pick Faye as his replacement on the presidential election. Faye a former tax inspector is now Senegal’s fifth president since independence from France in 1960 and the first to openly admit to a polygamous marriage.

In his brief speech as he was taking the Presidential oath, Faye said “I am aware that the results of the ballot box express a profound desire for systemic change,” “Under my leadership, Senegal will be a country of hope, a peaceful country with an independent judiciary and a strengthened democracy,” he added.Faye and Sonko were among a group of opposition politicians freed from prison 10 days before the March 24 presidential election under an amnesty announced by former president Macky Sall, who had tried to delay the vote.

“I have painful memories of the martyrs of Senegalese democracy, the amputees, the wounded and the former prisoners,” Faye said Tuesday, referring to the past three years of political unrest that left dozens dead and hundreds arrested.”I will always bear in mind the heavy sacrifices made in order never to disappoint you,” he added.

Faye also assured the foreign partners that, “Senegal’s openness to trade that respects our sovereignty and meets the aspirations of our people, in a mutually beneficial partnership. Commonly called as Diomaye, or “the honorable one”, his promise of radical change won the election with 54.3 percent of the vote. Reconciliation, sovereignty Working with his populist mentor Sonko, Faye’s campaign set out priorities of national reconciliation, easing the cost-of-living crisis and fighting corruption.

Faye also vowed to restore national sovereignty over Senegal’s assets such as the oil, gas and fishing sectors. Senegal is due to start the production of oil and gas later this year. He also promised to replace the currency CFA, which he described as a French colonial legacy, with a new common regional currency, and to invest more in agriculture for food self-sufficiency in the country.

President Faye and The Chairman of ECOWAS and The President Of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Meanwhile, his democratic victory has been internationally hailed, by world powers like the Washington DC, Paris, the African Union and the European Union. On the international stage, Faye looks forwards to bring military-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger back into the fold of the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Faye urged “more solidarity” between African countries “in the face of security challenges”. The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea all sent representatives to Diamniadio, including Guinean president General Mamady Doumbouya. Burkina Faso’s leader Captain Ibrahim Traore wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Faye’s mandate represented a “symbol of a new era for an uninhibited, free and sovereign Africa”.

He therefore added he was ready to work together on “the renovation of sub-regional and international cooperation”. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the inauguration “a testament to the Senegalese people, that they fought for their right to vote”.

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his two wives.

Faye, a practicing Muslim from a humble background with two wives and four children, Faye represents a new generation of politicians. Faye has expressed his admiration for US ex-president Barack Obama and late South African President Nelson Mandela. More importantly, is about the challenges to be faced by the new administration of Faye shortly. The most worrisome is job creation in a nation where 75% of the 18-million population is aged under 35 while the unemployment rate is officially 20%. With such a disturbing economic outlook at home, most young Senegalese have chosen to risk their lives to Europe through the Sea.

Source: oneinfoafrica