Following the conclusion of collation of votes, Mr Diomaye Faye has officially been declared winner of the presidential election in Senegal, winning 54.28% of votes in the first round.
According to reports Faye placed well ahead of the governing coalition’s candidate, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, who had 35.79% of the votes.
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.
Faye, 44, who has said he wants a “break” with the current political system, is set to become the youngest president in Senegal’s history.
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.
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 61.30 percent was less than in 2019 when outgoing President Macky Sall won a second term in the first-round, but more than in 2012.
