In Senegal, President Macky Sall meets Basirou Diomey Faye and Ousmane Sonko

Published on: 03/28/2024 – 22:50

4 minutes

“Courtesy”, a smile and a hand on the shoulder. The Senegalese Presidency published on Thursday March 28 photos of a new extraordinary moment that does not lack two months of crisis: the reception at the presidential palace of Basirou Diomey Faye by the outgoing Macy Sale. Basirou Dimaye Faye was accompanied by his mentor Osmane Sonko.

Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye waged a fierce three-year battle against Macky Saul’s power, killing dozens and jailing them for several months, before their release in mid-March in the middle of the election campaign.

The photo shows three smiling men greeting each other and Basirou Dimaye Faye putting his hand on the shoulder of his future predecessor.

The President spoke of a “courtesy meeting during which (Maki Sale and Basirou Diomay Faye) discussed in depth the key issues of the state as well as the swearing-in and handover ceremonies.” It is “the beginning of an important political transition,” she said.

After weeks of confusion that raised fears of postponing elections until December or a power vacuum, the apparatus is working to forcefully restore the standard of regulatory transition that characterizes the country and make a traditional handover possible. Next week’s outgoing Mackie sale and its successor.

The body responsible for announcing the provisional final results made them public on Wednesday, though it had until Friday to do so. The anti-system opponent, Bésirou Diomey Faye, who was still in prison two weeks ago, won Sunday’s first round with 54.28% of the vote, far ahead of government candidate Amadou Ba (35.79%).

It is now the Constitutional Council’s turn to examine the potential appeals of the candidates and either declare Basirou Diomey Faye the definitive winner, or annul the election, a highly unlikely scenario.

Instead of the usual 72 hours, the council gave any opponents until midnight on Thursday (00:00 GMT Friday), perhaps to ensure that the handover takes place before the April 2 official deadline for Mackie Cell’s mandate.

The “Last” Council of Ministers of Mackie Cell

President Mackie Sale caused an uproar by ordering the postponement of the presidential election, originally scheduled for February 25 and finally scheduled for March 24. Besides the agitation it caused, the postponement narrowed the deadline and sowed doubt about the possibility of a handover before the end of his mandate.

Timely transfers are important in a country that prides itself on its democratic practices and is considered one of the most stable in insurgency-plagued West Africa.

In the absence of a dispute, the Constitutional Council “may immediately announce the final results of the vote”, the constitution says.

See also thisSenegal’s President Basirou Diomay Faye: Towards a Real Breakdown?

However, Basirou Dimaye Faye’s opponents have recognized his victory and so far no one has publicly expressed their intention to object. Provisional results make Basirou Diomay Faye’s victory irrefutable while confirming the magnitude of the political earthquake.

Bessirou Diomay Faye is the first opponent to win in the first round since Senegal’s independence in 1960.

At the age of 44, he is expected to become the fifth and youngest president of the country of 18 million inhabitants.

Its arrival may suggest a deeper systemic challenge. He presents himself as a man of “leftist pan-Africanism” and the restoration of “sovereignty” sold abroad, according to him, with a twelve-year presidency. He vows to fight corruption and injustice.

President Mackie Sale presided over what his services described as his “last” cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He asked the government to “take all necessary steps” to prepare the handover files, with a view to “installation under the best conditions” of the new president.

with AFP