From prisoner to president in 20 days, Senegal’s Diomaye Faye takes office
Al Jazeera
As the 44-year-old is sworn in after a crucial election, we chart the road to victory for Africa’s newest and youngest leader.
Dakar, Senegal – “Finally, we can breathe,” the cashier at the American Food Store supermarket in Dakar said while swiping a pot of Greek yoghurt through checkout.
It was three days after Senegal’s contested March 24 presidential election – the day provisional results were announced – and there was a sense that something had turned: a new vigour for democracy brought about by the election of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The 44-year-old was sworn in on Tuesday after a period of political turmoil and fears that outgoing President Macky Sall – who had already been in power for 12 years – would try to extend his mandate into a third term.
For months, the nation was on tenterhooks.
But after a whirlwind election cycle and last week’s landslide win for the young, anti-establishment candidate who was in prison just 20 days ago, there is now a palpable feeling among Senegalese that change has come.
