Council confirms Faye's election win

The Constitutional Council on Friday confirmed the presidential election victory of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye (44). Africa News reports that the apex court validated provisional results announced on Wednesday based on vote tallies from 100% of polling stations. Faye won more than 54% of votes in last Sunday's delayed presidential poll, with ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba securing 35%. Faye is due to be sworn in as Senegal's youngest President tomorrow in Diamniadio. As previously reported in Legalbrief Africa, 7.3m people cast their ballots to elect the country’s fifth President. It followed three years of unprecedented political turbulence that sparked violent anti-government protests and buoyed support for the opposition. Macky Sall has stepped down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and concerns that the President wanted to extend his mandate past the constitutional limit. The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. The elections ran smoothly with no major incidents reported.

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