©(John WESSELS, AFP)
Senegal's anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become president after his main rival on Monday recognized his victory in elections that came barely days after he was freed from prison.
The win by the opposition candidate who will be Senegal's youngest president could trigger a political earthquake with policies that transform the country.
Faye, 44, promised left-wing pan-Africanism and to renegotiate gas and oil contracts, with Senegal due to start production on recently discovered oil and gas reserves later this year.
The opposition candidate has never held a nationally elected position and has not yet spoken publicly since Sunday's election, which followed three years of unrest and a political crisis.
His main rival from the governing coalition, Amadou Ba, recognized Faye's win in the first-round of the vote and offered his congratulations, a statement said.
Hundreds of jubilant Faye supporters had gathered at his campaign headquarters in the capital Dakar late Sunday.
"It's a total revolution. Everything is going to change. Behaviourally, socially and financially, everything is going to change," Coumba Diallo, a singer known as Queen Biz, enthused.
Deep Change
Faye was released from prison 10 days before the election under a rapidly passed amnesty law, together with opposition figurehead Ousmane Sonko.
He had been jailed last year on charges linked to a standoff between Sonko and the state. Sonko was barred from running in the presidential race.
The anti-establishment candidate has pledged to restore national "sovereignty", fight corruption and distribute wealth more equitably.
He has also promised to renegotiate mining, gas and oil contracts signed with foreign companies.
Postponement
Senegal was originally due to vote on February 25, but an 11th-hour postponement by Sall triggered the worst political crisis in decades and violence that left four dead.
Around 7.3 million of Senegal's 18 million population were eligible to vote.
With the country viewed as a beacon of democracy in coup-hit West Africa where Russia is strengthening its influence, the election has been closely followed.
with AFP
The win by the opposition candidate who will be Senegal's youngest president could trigger a political earthquake with policies that transform the country.
Faye, 44, promised left-wing pan-Africanism and to renegotiate gas and oil contracts, with Senegal due to start production on recently discovered oil and gas reserves later this year.
The opposition candidate has never held a nationally elected position and has not yet spoken publicly since Sunday's election, which followed three years of unrest and a political crisis.
His main rival from the governing coalition, Amadou Ba, recognized Faye's win in the first-round of the vote and offered his congratulations, a statement said.
Hundreds of jubilant Faye supporters had gathered at his campaign headquarters in the capital Dakar late Sunday.
"It's a total revolution. Everything is going to change. Behaviourally, socially and financially, everything is going to change," Coumba Diallo, a singer known as Queen Biz, enthused.
Deep Change
Faye was released from prison 10 days before the election under a rapidly passed amnesty law, together with opposition figurehead Ousmane Sonko.
He had been jailed last year on charges linked to a standoff between Sonko and the state. Sonko was barred from running in the presidential race.
The anti-establishment candidate has pledged to restore national "sovereignty", fight corruption and distribute wealth more equitably.
He has also promised to renegotiate mining, gas and oil contracts signed with foreign companies.
Postponement
Senegal was originally due to vote on February 25, but an 11th-hour postponement by Sall triggered the worst political crisis in decades and violence that left four dead.
Around 7.3 million of Senegal's 18 million population were eligible to vote.
With the country viewed as a beacon of democracy in coup-hit West Africa where Russia is strengthening its influence, the election has been closely followed.
with AFP
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