By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@AFPPhoto.
President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his election as the President of the Republic of Senegal.
Faye has comfortably won the country’s presidential election with 54.28 percent of votes in the first round, while it still has to be validated by Senegal’s top constitutional body.
At 44-years old, Faye is the youngest president in Senegal’s history after his rival conceded.
The victory for Faye, who was only freed from prison 10 days before the election, still has to be validated by Senegal’s top constitutional body, which could happen in a few days.
It would be the first time since independence from France in 1960 that an opponent has won in the first round.
Aliou Mamadou Dia, who came third out of 19 candidates officially on the list, won just 2.8 percent of the vote, according to figures read out at the Dakar court by the president of the national vote counting commission, Amady Diouf.
Ramaphosa says the outcome of the election bears testimony to the resilient spirit of the Senegalese people who preferred the democratic course of change of government, through voting.
He further applauded the other contestants for displaying maturity in accepting the election outcome.
The president adds South Africa and Senegal enjoy close political, trade and social relations deepened by strong historical ties rooted from the anti-apartheid struggle.
Ramaphosa has committed to strengthen the bilateral relationship between South Africa and Senegal further in pursuit of a better and peaceful continent.
“The Senegalese people have lighten a beacon which will usher in a new hope in the journey of rebuilding Africa by opting for peaceful change of government as opposed to violence.”
While his victory in Sunday’s vote was already clear after the publication of unofficial partial results, the margin of Faye’s win was confirmed by the vote counting commission, which falls under the judiciary.
The turnout of 61.3 percent was less than in 2019 when outgoing President Macky Sall won a second term in the first-round, but more than in 2012.
The announcement of the official provisional results seems to clear the way for a handover of power between Sall and his successor.
The political crisis triggered by Sall’s last-minute postponement of the vote, and the subsequently rushed electoral timetable, cast doubt on whether the handover could take place before the incumbent’s term officially ends on April 2.