Anti-establishment figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye has comfortably won the Senegalese presidential election with 54.28 percent of votes in the first round, official provisional results showed Wednesday.Faye, who has never held elected office, is set to become the fifth president of the West African country of around 18 million people.
His fellow presidential candidates, and Sall, have recognised his victory.
Sunday’s election was preceded by three years of tension and deadly unrest, with Senegal plunged into a fresh political crisis in February when Sall decided to delay the presidential poll.
Dozens have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021, with the country’s democratic credentials coming under scrutiny.
Faye himself was detained for months before his release in the middle of the election campaign.
International observers hailed the smooth running of Sunday’s vote.
The African Union’s observation mission commended the “political and democratic maturity of the Senegalese people (and) the generally peaceful political atmosphere of the presidential election”.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday congratulated Faye and “the Senegalese people, who have demonstrated that the right to vote — and have that vote counted — remains democracy’s threshold liberty”.
Faye has promised to restore national “sovereignty” and implement a programme of “left-wing pan-Africanism”.
His election could herald a profound overhaul of Senegal’s institutions.
On Monday, he pledged “to govern with humility, with transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels”.
He said he would prioritise “national reconciliation”, “rebuilding institutions” and “significantly reducing the cost of living”.
But he also sought to reassure foreign partners.
Senegal “will remain a friendly country and a sure and reliable ally for any partner that engages with us in virtuous, respectful and mutually productive cooperation,” he pledged.
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