Propelled to power from humble roots despite never holding national elected office, Senegal’s president Bassirou Diomaye Faye. He defied the odds by promising radical change and being guided by a charismatic mentor.
Commonly known as Diomaye, which means “the honourable one” in the local Serer language, he won the March 24 presidential election with 54.3 percent of the vote just 10 days after leaving prison.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye Biographie
Bassirou Diomaye Faye (born March 25, 1980, Ndiaganiao, Senegal) is a Senegalese politician and former tax inspector who became the president of Senegal in April 2024.
Faye was raised in Ndiaganiao, where he attended Marie Médiatrice Catholic School. He later attended Lycée Demba Diop in Mbour, where he graduated in 2000.
His father, Samba Faye is a long-time member of the Socialist Party of Senegal, is quoted with saying that his son grew up with left-wing ideals.
His grandfather fought for Free France during World War II as a soldier in the Troupes coloniales and was jailed after the war following a dispute with French colonial authorities over his efforts to establish a district high school in Ndianganao which Faye later attended.
Faye went on to obtain a master’s degree in law from University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar. He then attended the National School of Administration of Senegal, also in Dakar, where he trained to be a tax inspector. Faye is a practicing Muslim.
Education and early career
He went to primary school in his village and then undertook middle and high school in M’Bour. In 2000, Faye earned his baccalaureate.
He successfully attained a master’s degree in law in Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University and subsequently cleared both competitive exams, enrolling at the National School of Administration of Senegal (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004.
After graduation, Faye opted to become a tax inspector in the Tax and Estates department, where he befriended Ousmane Sonko, a fellow alum from the same school.
In 2014, Faye and Sonko’s relationship grew closer in the Taxes and Estates Union, created by Sonko, the leader of the newly founded political party PASTEF.
During his time at the head of the union, Faye campaigned to facilitate homeownership for tax and property agents.
Faye meets Sonko
Faye met Ousmane Sonko, also a tax inspector, at work. Sonko had founded and at the time was leading a trade union, the Autonomous Union of Tax and Domain Agents, which Faye joined.
In 2014 Sonko formed a political party, African Patriots of Senegal for Labor, Ethics and Fraternity (Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Éthique et la Fraternité; PASTEF).
Faye also joined PASTEF, eventually rising to the executive leadership level. In Senegal’s 2019 presidential election, Sonko, representing PASTEF, placed third, while the incumbent, Macky Sall, was reelected.
Despite losing the election, Sonko proved to be a popular opposition figure in the country.
In the following years, however, he faced legal charges that he and his supporters maintained were politically motivated. He was arrested in 2021, after which Faye became secretary-general of PASTEF.
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In April 2023 Faye himself was arrested and jailed on charges of defaming magistrates and contempt of court, stemming from his comments about magistrates’ behavior in some of Sonko’s legal proceedings.
On July 31 the government dissolved PASTEF, alleging that the party had held violent protests earlier that year and also in 2021. Nonetheless, PASTEF leadership prepared for the country’s 2024 presidential election.
Faye selected presidential candidate while still in jail
There were concerns that Sonko, who had since been convicted of crimes, would not be allowed to be a candidate, and plans were made to chose another senior party member to stand for the presidency.
Though Faye was still in jail, he was selected, with Sonko’s support, to stand as an independent candidate in the February 25 election if Sonko was not able to do so.
In January 2024 Sonko was indeed confirmed as being disqualified by the Constitutional Council. The 2024 presidential election was not held as scheduled.
However, on February 3 President Sall announced that it would be postponed, ostensibly to resolve a dispute regarding the disqualification of some presidential candidates by the Constitutional Council the previous month, though critics accused Sall of attempting to stay in office past his mandate.
The announcement and subsequent approval by the National Assembly for the election to be held in December, with Sall extending his term as president in the interim, led to several protests by the opposition as well as criticism from international organizations and other countries.
On February 15 the Constitutional Council ruled on the matter, canceling the postponement decree and legislation because it found that neither Sall nor the National Assembly had the authority to postpone the election.
The council also urged the government to hold the election as soon as possible. On March 6 the government announced that the election would be held on March 24.
Faye and Sonko released from jail
Also on March 6 the National Assembly passed an amnesty law that affected jailed opposition members and protesters; under the law, Faye and Sonko were released from jail on March 14.
They quickly hit the campaign trail together, and, Faye being still relatively unknown, they capitalized on Sonko’s popularity with the slogan “Doimaye mooy Sonko” (Wolof: “Diomaye is Sonko”).
Faye campaigned on the promise to tackle corruption. He also said he would seek monetary reforms and renegotiate contracts for the country’s lucrative natural resources, and he criticized the current slate of Senegalese leaders.
These messages were well received among younger voters, who, in a country where more than three-fifths of the population was under the age of 30, would be crucial in his pursuit of winning the election.
He also picked up the support of many other political parties. When the March 24 election was held, Faye was one of a crowded field of 19 candidates, with no clear front-runners.
As such, most assumed that no one would win the requisite more than 50 percent of votes and a second round would be needed.
After the polls closed, however, it quickly became apparent that Faye was on track to garner more than 50 percent of the vote, thus winning the election outright.
Within 24 hours other candidates conceded the election to him on the basis of the preliminary and incomplete results. Official provisional results, released on March 27, showed that Faye won 54.28 percent of the vote.
On March 29 the Constitutional Council confirmed the results and on April 2 Faye was inaugurated as the youngest president in Senegal’s history. He appointed Sonko as prime minister on the same day.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye Personal Life & Family
Coming from a modest rural background, Faye, a practicing Muslim with two wives who often sports a trademark wide-sleeved boubou robe, embodies a new generation of Senegalese politicians.
Faye is polygamous and has two wives: Marie Khone Faye and Absa Faye. Marie Khone is a close relative of her husband, and together they have had four children: three boys and one girl.
He has not had any children with Absa. Faye married Marie in 2009 and Absa in 2023.
The father-of-four was born into a modest family of farmers in remote Ndiaganiao, a village 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the capital Dakar with no health centre or tarmac roads.
Faye left Ndiaganiao to study at Dakar’s prestigious National Administration School but says he regularly returns to the village.
“Diomaye was a little shepherd who watched over his goats in the fields,” said Mor Sarr, one of his best friends.
Faye “has always been very close to his mother, Khady Diouf”, helping her with household tasks, Sarr added.
An admirer of former US president Barack Obama and South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, Faye is also a fan of psychology books and French former football star Zinedine Zidane, said Sarr.
Mixed martial arts, swimming and reggae music are also among his pastimes, he added. He’s also a fan of Spanish football giants Real Madrid.
The future president’s uncle, Diomaye Faye, said his nephew is “a good boy” who pays careful attention to his conduct and will be in tune with the reality of the country.
According to his declaration of assets that he released during his presidential campaign in 2024, Faye possesses a house in Dakar, as well as land outside the capital and in Ndiaganiao. He also possesses about $6,600 total in his bank accounts.
Political Career of Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Faye in 2020
Initially a guest when PASTEF was founded, Faye swiftly ascended to become one of the most prominent figures within the party.
He would go on to become one of the ideologues and designers of Sonko’s program for his candidacy in the 2019 Senegalese presidential election. Sonko gained almost 16% of the vote and came third.
In February 2021, Faye became the general secretary of PASTEF after Sonko was arrested, being accused of repeated rape by a massage parlor employee.
As part of its strategy to win power, Faye attempted to unite the opposition for the 2022 elections, winning 56 seats under the alliance Liberate the People.
At the same time, Faye ran unsuccessfully to become mayor of Ndianganao.
Imprisonment and release
On 14 April 2023, Faye was apprehended as he exited his tax and property office on Rue de Thiong in Dakar.
Subsequently, he was placed under police custody for charges including “spreading false news, contempt of court, and defamation of a constituted body” following a social media post he made.
In this post, he denounced the perceived injustice within the judicial system, foreseeing a verdict that could potentially disqualify Sonko in a legal dispute between PASTEF and the Minister of Tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang [fr].
As the situation progressed, additional charges of “incitement to insurrection” and “undermining state security” were brought against him, resulting in an indefinite period of detention.
After an attempt by incumbent president Macky Sall in February 2024 to postpone the elections, citing unresolved disputes over who could run, widespread protests erupted and the Constitutional Council of Senegal overturned the postponement.
In response to the protests and overturning, Sall said that he would leave office as scheduled on 2 April, setting the election date on 24 March.[7] He also expressed his willingness to release Sonko, Faye and all their supporters as an act of good faith.
At the end of February, the government tabled an amnesty bill to calm the social and political unrest.
Several hundred political prisoners were released by the government, and on 14 March, days before the election, Sonko and Faye were both released from prison.
Why Bassirou Diomaye Faye Was Sent to Jail
Sall’s 12 years in office had been overshadowed by the political turmoil of the final few. In 2020, COVID-19 restrictions badly affected the informal economy and people’s livelihoods.
The following year, the attempted arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko ignited widespread anger towards the government, which was accused of ignoring the struggles of common people in favour of clamping down on political opponents.
Riots broke out, and the clashes turned deadly. Scores of people were killed and hundreds injured by armed, masked men.
The opposition and civil society saw them as goons hired by the ruling party, acting with impunity and paid to hurt people.
From March 2021 to February 2024, thousands of people were arrested – among them Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Protest post on Facebook
The former tax inspector had taken to Facebook to protest, writing a post in February 2023 that accused magistrates of being in the pocket of the state while overlooking actual crimes.
The authorities deemed the post threatening to state security and, therefore, illegal. That April, Faye was arrested and sent to prison, where he stayed for 11 months before being released just before last month’s vote.
At the time of his arrest, Faye had been working for Sonko, also a tax inspector. They were figureheads of the union of employees of the tax office upset with injustice and disparities at the tax department.
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In 2014, Sonko, a firebrand with a soft tone and a sharp tongue, created the political party PASTEF (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity).
The party attracted middle management civil servants who felt frustrated and powerless as they watched their superiors steal money and receive kickbacks with impunity.
Sonko came to fame by denouncing corruption in contracts for the lucrative oil and gas sector after natural gas reserves were discovered in 2014.
In 2023, he was arrested on multiple charges, including provoking insurrection, conspiring with “terrorist groups”, endangering state security and immoral behaviour towards individuals younger than 21.
Shortly after, the government banned his party. In 2018, Al Jazeera met Sonko in a small rented house overlooking a busy highway.
During the interview, he lashed out at the government’s then-new law to control social media.
Little did he know then that the law passed in 2018 would be used five years later to arrest his deputy and the future president of Senegal, Faye.
Amnesty bill
On March 6, 18 days before the election, Sall passed an amnesty bill approved by parliament to release and pardon all those involved in crimes during the political violence that took place from 2021 to 2024.
Rights groups criticised the amnesty law, seeing it as a guise to protect the security forces and hired men involved in police brutality and the killing of protesters – crimes that will now no longer be investigated and, therefore, go unpunished.
But the amnesty also ensured the release of Sonko and Faye, who were freed less than two weeks before the election, bringing their presidential campaign to life.
Presidential Campaign of Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Faye in 2023
After uncertainty over the possibility of Sonko being a candidate in the presidential election, PASTEF endorsed Faye in November 2023 as its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, despite him being detained.
However, PASTEF had been banned several months earlier, meaning he was running as an independent. On 20 January 2024, the Senegalese Constitutional Council published the final list of candidates for the presidential election and Sonko did not appear there after several legal battles.
Faye’s candidacy was validated because he was never convicted although remaining detained. Sonko quickly announced his support to Faye for the election.
On 15 March 2024, a day after Faye’s release from jail, he gathered hundreds of supporters at his first public appearance as a presidential contender.
Former president Abdoulaye Wade and his Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) endorsed Faye on the same day, in a boost to his chances of winning election.
The move came after PDS candidate Karim Wade was disqualified from contesting the race because he was a dual citizen at the time he submitted his candidacy.
Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, another candidate in the presidential election, withdrew in favor of Faye.
During the presidential campaign, he has promised to create jobs, campaigned strongly against corruption, and vowed to reexamine energy contracts.
He ran under the slogan “Diomaye mooy Ousmane”, which means “Diomaye is Ousmane” in Wolof, and expressed hope that Sonko’s charisma and popular appeal among Senegal’s youth would boost his campaign.
Faye’s program is similar with Sonko’s for 2019.[5] During the campaign, Faye released a declaration of his assets and called on other candidates to follow suit.
Presidency
Faye was elected president after an election campaign that was marred by an attempt by the government to postpone the election, which was ultimately held on 24 March.
Faye received over 54% of the vote, making him the first opposition candidate to have won an election in the first round since Senegal’s independence in 1960.
He was formally inaugurated on 2 April. In his inaugural address, Faye pledged to fight corruption and reform the economy.
His first official act was to appoint Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister of Senegal, who formally presented his government on 5 April.
On 3 April, Faye ordered an audit of the mining, oil, and gas sector, but insisted that investors were “welcome in Senegal.”
Political positions
Faye says he believes in system change and left-wing pan-Africanism to reclaim Senegal’s sovereignty, which some analysts believe is an allusion to intentions to distance the country away from Western powers, especially from the former French colonial empire.
He also vowed to fight “French economic stranglehold” over Senegal if elected.
Constitutional reforms
Faye has promised to reduce presidential powers and reintroduce the vice presidency.
Corruption reform
Faye has claimed to prioritize fighting political corruption if he is elected president, saying: “No country can develop when corruption and embezzlement of public funds are endemic.”
Currency
Faye wants to stop the circulation of the CFA franc in Senegal, remove it as its official currency, and create a new national currency.
In his program, he states: “We will carry out a monetary reform that will allow our country to have its own currency.”
In a press conference, he added: “There’s no sovereignty if there is no monetary sovereignty.”
After concern from foreign investors, in March 2023 he said that “Senegal will seek to implement a reform of the CFA franc at a regional level first and if that fails, will consider creating a national currency.”
Energy
Faye believes in the renegotiation of contracts between the government and corporations in sectors ranging from energy to mining and fishing. He has also pledged to equally distribute profits out of a gasfield that is expected to start production in 2024.
Military
Faye aims to enhance the reputation and integrity of the defense and security forces through a concerted effort to combat corruption and inefficiency.
This initiative seeks to ensure the optimal use of resources by implementing programs aimed at boosting the morale, motivation, and oversight of officers.
Additionally, there’s a commitment to raise the salaries of lower-ranking personnel. His program pledges to uphold the core identity of the Armed Forces of Senegal by advocating for a return to military principles, preventing their involvement in political affairs.
Furthermore, the plan includes bolstering the air capabilities of the army through the procurement of strategic transport aircraft, such as the C-130, to fulfill external commitments effectively.
Judicial
Faye believes in the separation of powers, so that there should be no ties between the executive and the judiciary.
His plan involves transitioning from the Senegalese Constitutional Council to a constitutional court, positioning it as the apex of the judicial structure.
Additionally, in a bid to enhance accountability and fortify oversight mechanisms, he proposes abolishing political funds and substituting them with special funds allocated by the National Assembly for critical operations, such as arms procurement and clandestine missions.
Furthermore, legislation will be introduced to safeguard whistleblowers, aligning with the principles outlined in the law on transparency in finance management in the public sector.
References
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