Bassirou Diomaye Faye walked hesitantly through the corridors of the Palace of the Republic of Senegal on April 2. At 44, he had just been sworn in as the youngest president in the West African country's history and will be in charge for the next five years. He is taking over from Macky Sall, who was in power for 12 years and who has fought a merciless battle with Faye's party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF), and his mentor, Ousmane Sonko. "I wish you a pleasant stay in this building," he said to his young successor, before receiving the military honors.
Faye, who 11 months earlier had been imprisoned by Sall's fading government, was modestly triumphant. Ten days after his release, he was elected in the first round, to everyone's surprise. Dressed in a midnight blue suit and the insignia of power, he watched impassively as his opponent made his way to the exit.
This epilogue, after years of violent political confrontation, illustrates the soundness of Senegal's democratic institutions. For three years, the country has wavered several times, but the changeover desired by the electorate has prevailed, like an unstoppable tidal wave. Sonko took his revenge by being appointed prime minister by the man he had nominated to replace him in the race for the presidency.
This dazzling conquest of power was theorized by the Faye-Sonko duo just over a decade ago. In 2014, the two men were tax inspectors and set up a protest political party, PASTEF. They made a name for themselves with their sovereignist, populist rhetoric. Their favorite targets were President Sall and his younger brother, Aliou Sall, accused of taking bribes in the awarding of gas and oil concessions, Senegal's new windfall. In the 2019 presidential election, the heterogeneous party, which brings together liberals, former communists and conservative forces, scored its first electoral coup, coming third with 16% of the vote.
While charismatic leader Sonko is the face of the movement, Faye is the source of its ideas. It is he who conceptualizes the party's platform, a sovereignist program that castigates corruption, clientelism and neo-colonialism. Their searing discourse resonates with young people and the urban elite.
But the "comet" almost exploded in mid-air. One evening in February 2021, Adji Sarr, an employee of a massage parlor, turned up at a Dakar police station. She accused Sonko of repeated rape and death threats. Sonko denied the allegations, stating they were a ruse by the regime to block his path to the 2024 presidential election.
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