Diomai Fai Bassiru (Bassirou Diomaye Faye)

Diomai Fai Bassiru (Bassirou Diomaye Faye)

Career

2024: Senegal's presidential election win

Opposition Senegal candidate Bassiru Diomai Fai, who previously worked as a tax inspector, won the presidential election. This was announced on March 25, 2024. RBC

Based on the predictions of the election results, while we are waiting for the official results, I congratulate... Mr. Fai with a victory in the first round - said Amadou Ba, the main competitor to Bassir Diomai Fai.

Despite the fact that the election results have not yet been officially published (the Senegal General Election Office plans to publish the results on March 29, 2024), the candidate from the ruling coalition, Amadou Ba, who previously served as prime minister, admitted defeat and congratulated Bassira on his victory.

Exit polls predict a victory for Bassir Diomai Fai with 53.7% of the vote. Amadou Ba won 36.2% of the vote. Senegalese President Maki Sal, whose term expires on April 2, 2024, congratulated Fai on his victory, declaring the result a "victory for Senegalese democracy." West Africa has seen 8 military coups since 2020, so the peaceful transfer of power in Senegal is a major development in African politics.

For 10 days before the election, Fai was in prison. He was in prison for 11 months for a Facebook post that the Senegalese authorities considered "sabotage." Fai was released thanks to an amnesty that President Maki Sal announced for all those arrested at political rallies from 2021 to 2024. Together with Fai, the main opposition member of Senegal, Usman Sonko, was also released. He himself could not participate in the elections, but expressed support for Bassir Diomai Fai.

Now Bassiru Diomay should become the next president of Senegal. His campaign program promised "radical change in the country." Among his proposals are the rejection of the CFA franc currency introduced by the French authorities in colonial territories, its replacement with a new currency, as well as the spread of teaching in English (since Senegal was a colony of France, the official language of Senegal is French).^[1]

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