ADDIS ABABA, March 30 (NNN-XINHUA) — African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has congratulated Bassirou Diomaye Faye for winning Senegal’s presidential election.
In a statement issued Thursday, Faki said he warmly congratulates Faye on the occasion of the official proclamation of his election in the first round as the next president of Senegal.
“The AU Commission chairperson wishes Faye every success in his heavy and noble task of deepening a peaceful, stable and tolerant democracy in the service of inclusive and shared prosperity,” the statement said.
The statement said the AU welcomes the unanimous acceptance of the results of the presidential elections by the entire Senegalese political class.
Faki commended the “dignified and responsible” behavior of all Senegalese political and social actors which he said attests to the deep roots of democratic traditions in the West African country.
Faye, the candidate of the opposition coalition “Diomaye President,” won 54.28 percent of the votes, according to final results released by the country’s National Vote Counting Commission.
“Considering that candidate Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye has received 2,434,751 votes, which is more than the absolute majority of the votes cast… Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye is elected President of the Republic of Senegal,” according to a decision published Friday by the Constitutional Council.
The Council “has not received any challenges” from the 19 candidates, according to the same source.
Aged 44, Faye was born in Ndiaganiao located 115 km east of Dakar. He holds a master’s degree in law from the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. In 2004, he passed the entrance exam to the National School of Administration and became a tax inspector after graduation.
He served as the secretary general of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) party, which was dissolved by a presidential decree in July 2023.
Faye was imprisoned in April 2023 and was released on March 14 following the enactment of an amnesty law by outgoing President Macky Sall. — NNN-XINHUA
