From Prison to President: Who is Diomaye Faye, the anti-establishment candidate handed Sonko’s “birth right” as Senegal’s next president?
Until a few months ago, Bassirou Diomaye
Faye was a little-known leading political operative in Ousmane Sonko’s
disbanded PASTEF party. Now, even though it is yet to be officially declared, he
is the President-elect of Senegal against all odds, thanks to Sonko’s loyal
base.
When sworn in, Faye
will be Senegal’s youngest ever president celebrating his 44th
birthday on the day of his election victory.
But who is Bassirou Diomaye Faye?
Bassirou Diomaye Faye
is the anointed candidate of Senegal’s firebrand opposition leader Ousmane
Sonko.
Faye was born in 1980 in west-central
Senegal’s Ndiaganiao. He met Sonko while working as a tax inspector in the
government’s taxes and estates department, where they were instrumental in the
formation of the Taxes and Estates Union.
Education
According to Faye's biography on his
campaign website, he was often the top of his class growing up. He graduated
from high school on Senegal's southern coast in 2000, then studied law and got
a master's degree from Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University.
In 2004, the devout Muslim passed the competitive
entrance exam to Senegal's National School of Administration which trains the
former French colony's top civil servants, where he specialised as a tax
inspector.
Detention
He was arrested in April 2023, a few months
before Sonko was also held, and charged with contempt of court and defaming
magistrates, charges Faye had denied. Crucially, unlike Sonko, he was not
barred from running in elections.
Campaign
Policies
Mr. Faye and Mr. Sonko
have captivated young people by excoriating political elites, pledging to renegotiate
contracts with oil and gas companies, and promising “monetary sovereignty”
signaling a departure from the popular CFA even though they’ve toned down on its
implementation
Road to Victory
The 44-year-old leader contested the elections
as an independent due to the dissolution of his Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF)
party last July for causing unrest. The PASTEF party, which was founded by
Sonko in 2014, endorsed Faye.
A coalition of more than 100 parties, and
some political heavyweights including former prime minister Aminata Toure,
joined Faye's campaign under the banner "Doimaye mooy Sonko", which
in the local wolof language means "Diomaye is Sonko."
Mr. Sonko has been
keen to emphasize that a vote for Mr. Faye — known to many as Diomaye — was a
vote for him.
Personal life
Faye is married with two wives; Marie Khone Faye and Absa Faye and has four children.
Source: AEP and NEWS AGENCIES
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