From prison to palace: Senegal’s opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye set to become president

Senegal’s less-known, 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye was labeled the country’s next president on Monday, less than two weeks after being freed from prison to race in the election.

From a Dakar prison to the presidency, Senegal’s anti-establishment Bassirou Diomaye Faye expresses the victorious personality of his supporter and opposition nominal head Ousmane Sonko, who endorsed him as his replacement.

“I pledge to govern with humility and transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels. I pledge to devote myself fully to rebuilding our institutions,” he expressed, repeating pledges made throughout his campaign.

Along the footprints, Faye who has not once held elected role, guaranteed the Senegalese thoughtful adjustment and left-wing Pan-Africanism.

Proposing himself as part of a new generation of politicians, he believes in national autonomy, an honest supply of wealth and restructuring of what he observes as a crooked justice system.

He also promises to renegotiate fuel and fishing agreements, and declares he is not terrified of establishing a new national currency in lieu of the CFA franc, a measure condemned by his government rival for President Amadou Ba.

Faye’s opponents accuse him of running a group of “explorers” keen to pursue policies that are unsafe for the nation.