PH
Senegal inaugurated Africa’s youngest elected leader as president on Tuesday, after the 44-year-old and hitherto unknown Bassirou Diomaye Faye completed a spectacular journey from prison to palace in just a few weeks.
The election last month put Senegal’s image as a stable democracy in West Africa to the test, as the area has been rocked by coups and attempted coups in recent years.
Faye was released from prison less than two weeks before the vote, along with mentor and popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, as part of an amnesty declared by outgoing President Macky Sall.
Their arrests provoked months of protests and raised suspicions that Sall would seek a third term in office against term limits.
According to rights groups, hundreds of people were slain, and approximately 1,000 were imprisoned.
In his first speech as president, Faye recalled those slain and detained during the protests and promised to give Senegal more sovereignty while working to achieve prosperity.
“I am aware that the results of the elections express a profound desire for systemic change,” he told reporters.
Faye, a former tax inspector, is serving in her first elected post.
His rise reflects broad unhappiness among Senegal’s youth with the country’s direction—a common emotion across Africa, which has the world’s youngest population and a number of presidents often accused of clinging to power for decades.
