The winner of Senegal's leftist elections, Diomaye Faye, is sworn in as the new president. He is the youngest elected president in West Africa.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye with his wives Marie Khone Faye (left) and Absa Faye (right) voting in Senegal, March 24 Photo: Khadidiatou Sene/afp

COTONOU taz | Senegal's former opposition is back in a partisan mood. On Tuesday, his politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the country's youngest president to date, was sworn in. At the Abdou Diouf International Conference Center near the capital Dakar, the 44-year-old swore at noon to faithfully carry out the office of president and respect the Constitution and the laws.

It is the culmination of an incredible success story. Three weeks ago, the left-wing Pan-Africanist was still in prison. Ten days after his release, he surprisingly won Senegal's presidential election with a good 54 percent. This marked the end of a nearly two-month political crisis.

Faye is now not only the youngest head of state in Senegal's history, but also the youngest elected president in West Africa, where four states are ruled by the military. On behalf of the regional organization in question, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), its president, Bola Tinubu, the 72-year-old president of Nigeria, as well as the president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, 58, traveled to the inauguration.

Among the other guests was Mamady Doumbouya, 44, a coup military leader in Guinea, Senegal's neighbor, who is only a few weeks older than her new counterpart.

Gossip about wives

The announcement that both of Faye's wives would participate in the inauguration sparked much more gossip. The Muslim has been married to Marie Khone Faye, a Christian, since 2009 and has four children. He married Absa Faye, a Muslim, last year. Senegal is said to now have two first ladies, although the status does not officially exist. What was already known in South Africa, where former president Jacob Zuma took his wives alternately to receptions and state visits, is new for Senegal. Faye is the country's first openly polygamous president.

In the short message service X, France's critics celebrate as Nathalie Yamb “Long live polygamy,” he writes. In any case, Yamb and the Beninese radicals see it Kemi Seba – both have numerous contacts in Russia – Faye's election is a “strong signal to all the tyrants, pawns of neocolonialism who are currently at the top of our African States,” the latter tweets.

Faye clearly wants to position herself as a pan-Africanist and has already announced that she will review contracts with Europe. At the same time, he wants to continue maintaining contacts with previous partners, including former colonial power France. He embodies a new type of politician for Senegal. The jurist and graduate of the elite ENA administrative school is well educated and did not come to power through old personal and family networks.

Long-awaited composition

What Faye will achieve politically remains only speculation. The next general election will take place in 2027. The governing coalitions of former President Macky Sall and the previous opposition are equally strong. It is unclear how the two sides will work together.

The composition of the new government is eagerly awaited. For weeks there has been speculation about whether Ousmane Sonko will become Prime Minister in the future. Sonko is the current leader of the opposition in Senegal, but he was not allowed to run for the presidential election due to a prison sentence.

He supported his party colleague Faye: both belonged to the left-wing opposition party Pastef (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity), which was banned in 2023. During the brief election campaign he also spoke in Senegalese Wolof : “Diomaye moy Sonko, Sonko moy Diomaye” – “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye.”