Senegal vote offers hope to frustrated young Africans
By Leonard Mbulle-Nziege & Nic Cheeseman
Few political turnarounds can match the last month in Senegal.
Just over two weeks ago, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was a little-known opposition leader languishing in jail, detained without trial on charges including inciting insurrection, who had never held elected office.
One week ago, he defeated the governing party’s candidate, Amadou Ba, in the country’s presidential election, winning 54% in the first round.
On Tuesday, the 44-year-old is set to be sworn in as the fifth president of Senegal and become Africa’s youngest elected head of state.
In a region where a large majority of the population are under 30, his victory offers hope to those young people frustrated by a lack of economic opportunities, with old elites seemingly clinging to power.
Mr Faye’s spectacular rise is a powerful reminder that elections still represent the best way to remove a failing government for many citizens in Africa.
Not only has his win removed an unpopular government from office, it has strengthened the country’s democratic institutions and reinvigorated popular confidence in democracy at a time when coups in other West African states have done the opposite.
The story of Mr Faye’s victory will also inspire other leaders across the continent, who have experienced years of rising repression, intimidation and censorship.
