Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in on Tuesday, April 2, as Senegal’s youngest president after sweeping to a first-round victory on a pledge of radical reform 10 days after he was released from prison. The 44-year-old had never before held an elected office before he won the ruling party to emerge president. Several African leaders attended the ceremony in the new town of Diamniadio, near the capital Dakar. “Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfil the office of President of the Republic of Senegal,” Faye said before the gathered officials.
He also vowed to “scrupulously observe the provisions of the Constitution and the laws” and to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence, and to spare no effort to achieve African unity”. The formal handover of power with outgoing President Macky Sall will take place at the presidential palace in Dakar. Faye was among a group of political opponents freed from prison 10 days before the March 24 presidential ballot under an amnesty announced by Sall, who had tried to delay the vote. Faye’s campaign was launched while he was still in detention. The former tax inspector becomes the West African state’s fifth president since independence from France in 1960 and the first to openly admit to a polygamous marriage.