Senegal’s Opposition Candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye Set to Secure Victory in Presidential Election

Senegal’s opposition candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is set to become the nation’s fifth president after his main rival Amadou Ba, of the ruling coalition, has called him to concede defeat. 

The compiled results since the conclusion of the delayed presidential election indicate that Faye, aged 44, is poised to secure an outright majority. His supporters flooded the streets of the capital Dakar in jubilant celebration.

Initially, the ruling coalition candidate, Amadou Ba, aged 62, deemed these celebrations premature, insisting that a run-off vote would be necessary to ascertain the winner. However, he subsequently reached out to Faye on Monday to extend his congratulations, as reported by a government spokesperson to journalists.

“In light of presidential election result trends and while we await the official proclamation, I congratulate… Faye for his victory in the first round,” said Ba.

Official results are expected to be announced by the Dakar appeals court on Friday. The electoral commission has not yet communicated on the tallies counted so far out of 15,633 voting stations.