Senegal’s opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye wins presidential poll

While official results of Sunday’s vote were not yet available, the former prime minister who was the other frontrunner, and who was backed by incumbent President Macky Sall, conceded defeat based on preliminary results.

In his first speech delivered as president-elect late Monday, the former tax inspector promised to a fresh chapter following the months of violence and many political arrests that led up to the election.

The outgoing president Sall, who triggered violent protests earlier this year when he unsuccessfully tried to postpone the election until the end of the year, described the outcome of the vote as a victory for Senegal.

His former prime minister and the loser in the race, Amadou Ba, wished Faye success in a statement shared by his campaign team.

The election on Sunday followed months of unrest ignited by Faye and Sonko’s arrest last year, and concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits.

The expected winner of the election, Faye is a former tax collector and was little known until Sonko named him as his heir.

Ahead of Sunday’s election, Faye published a declaration of his assets, and called on other candidates to do the same.