The African Union welcomed anti-establishment opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in Senegal’s presidential election, praising “unanimous acceptance of the results”.
In a statement released on Friday, African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat said he “warmly congratulates” Faye on the formal declaration of his first-round victory and wishes him “full success in his weighty and noble charge.”
According to preliminary results, Faye won the first round of voting outright with 54.3 percent, significantly ahead of incumbent Macky Sall’s hand-picked opponent, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba.
Senegal’s Constitutional Court could proclaim Faye the official winner before the weekend, allowing for a transition before April 2, the official end of Sall’s term.
Faye was released from prison 10 days before the election, along with his mentor Ousmane Sonko, who was forbidden from running due to a criminal conviction he claims was politically motivated. Outgoing
President Macky Sall, who did not run after winning in 2012 and 2019, also felicitated him, proclaiming “a victory for Senegalese democracy”.
Faye has vowed left-wing pan-Africanism and to renegotiate gas and oil contracts, with Senegal set to begin production on newly discovered oil and gas reserves later this year.
The opposition candidate has never held a national office and has not spoken publicly since the election, which followed three years of unrest and a political crisis.
Also Read: Senegal’s Judiciary Validates Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s Victory
