The still provisional official results of the presidential election held on Sunday, March 24th, were announced on Wednesday, March 27th, by the National Vote Counting Commission. Bassirou Diomaye Faye is elected in the first round with 54.28%. The final results will be delivered by the Constitutional Council.
Behind President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in second place, Amadou Ba obtained 35.79%. The third candidate, Aliou Mamadou Dia, the candidate of the Unity and Rally Party, only garnered 2.8% of the votes. Khalifa Sall received 1.56% and Idrissa Seck, 0.9%. The turnout for this election stands at 61.3%.
At 44 years old, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has never held a national elective office before, will become Senegal’s youngest president. His opponents have acknowledged his victory. His election follows three years of tensions and unrest in the country. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021.
An Express Election Campaign
Incarcerated for eleven months before the presidential election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was finally released on March 14, along with Ousmane Sonko, under an amnesty law initiated by President Macky Sall. Alongside Mr. Sonko, he embarked on an express election campaign across the country aboard a caravan. This campaign concluded with a closing rally on Friday, March 22, in Mbour, his hometown.
On the evening of March 24th, the population turned out in large numbers to celebrate Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s victory. Subsequently, the future president of Senegal received congratulations from his opponents, President Sall, and numerous countries.
The publication of provisional official results by the National Vote Counting Commission, under the jurisdiction of the Senegalese judiciary, confirms the magnitude of the victory. However, these results still need to be confirmed and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.