The new president of Senegal was unknown, but “this family is not new to power”

How did Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, go from oblivion to a resounding victory in the presidential election in Senegal? On the family property, a relative explained: “This family is not new to power. »

The first election that Bassirou Diomaye Faye won was the one that just made him vote. the elected president of Senegal.

Before his victory in last Sunday's elections, 10 days after his release from prison, Mr. Faye had only presented himself at the town hall of her hometown, Ndiaganiao – a small village located on a sandy track, crisscrossed by horse carts carrying women and their goods to the market. He lost this election, in 2022, to the candidate of the ruling party.

Few people in Senegal know the remarkable career of the 44-year-old tax inspector , who rode a wave of youth discontent to become – once inaugurated – the youngest elected president in Africa. Provisional results officially released Tuesday showed he won with 54 percent of the vote.

But thanks to interviews with family and friends in Ndiaganiao and in the outlying village where he grew up, a The image emerged of a studious, loyal, curious and sometimes stubborn man, rooted in Senegalese traditions and his Islamic faith, with a deep understanding of the difficult situation facing confronted the legion of frustrated young people in his country.

“He didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Diomaye Faye, the uncle who gave him his name, in an interview at the president-elect's family home, a modest, tidy compound that hosted a large impromptu party on Sunday. night. He added: "This family is not new to power."

ImageM. Faye and her wives after voting in Ndiaganiao on Sunday. Credit... Jérôme Favre/EPA, via Shutterstock

The map shows the location of Ndiaganiao, Senegal, and its capital, Dakar.

MAURITANIA

Atlantic

Ocean

SENEGAL

Dakar

Ndiaganiao

MALI