Basirou Diomay Faye ran for president while he was in prison and was released after the launch of the (French) election campaign.

Basirou Diomaye Faye, the fifth President of the Republic of Senegal, was born in 1980 to a humble family in the Thies region near the capital, Dakar. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and worked as an inspector in the General Tax Administration.

He served as Secretary-General of the “Patriots for Action, Ethics and Fraternity” (Pastif) party, led by opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential elections, before the party was dissolved and its president and then its secretary-general were arrested.

From inside prison, Basiro and Sonko ran independently for the 2024 presidential elections in what observers considered a maneuver by the dissolved party and in anticipation of preventing its president from running. The counting of the preliminary results on the evening of March 24, 2024 revealed that Basiro was ahead of the rest of the candidates by a comfortable margin.

Supporters of Basirou Diomai Faye in front of his election campaign headquarters on March 24, 2024 (French)

Birth and upbringing

Basirou Diomaye Faye was born on March 25, 1980, to a humble family in the town of Ndiaganyaw, a town located in western Senegal and belonging to the Thies region, the second largest province in Senegal and the home of its first president, Leopold Sédar Senghor.

Study and training

Basiri received his early education in the town of Ndiaganyaw, and completed his secondary education at Demba Diop High School in Embour, a tourist city about 80 km from the capital, Dakar, where he obtained a baccalaureate (high school) degree in 2000.

Then he completed his higher education at Sheikh Anta Job University (the largest Senegalese university), where he obtained a “matriculation” (licentiate) in the field of law.

In 2004, he succeeded in obtaining a job in the Ministry of Finance, so he received his training at the National School of Administration in Dakar, and after 3 years he graduated as a tax inspector in 2007.

Professional experience

Basiru joined the General Tax Administration and began his professional career that led him to meet Ousmane Sonko, who preceded him in working in the Tax Administration by several years.

He also became a member of the Syndicate of Tax and Financial Agents, a body founded by Sonko that played an important role in exposing abuses and mismanagement in Senegal, and their relations strengthened.

Entering the political arena

Along with Sonko, Basiru was one of the founders of the “Patriots for Action, Ethics and Fraternity” party in 2014, and one of those who wrote its legal documents. He then became its Secretary-General in 2022, which is the second position in its leadership body.

The nascent party quickly attracted a wide range of talents, especially young people thirsty for change, and in a short period of time it came to the fore as one of the most prominent political parties in Senegal, while Basirou became one of its prominent leaders.

the prison

On April 14, 2023, Senegalese security forces arrested Besiro, and the court charged him with insulting justice, harming public security, and inciting rebellion, following statements he made following the arrest of his colleague and party head, Ousmane Sonko.

Despite these charges, Basiro was not put on trial and no judicial ruling was issued against him, which left the opposition party with a card to maneuver through nominating him, even if he was also in prison.

Plan B candidate

Imprisoned party leader Ousmane Sonko was absent from the list of presidential candidates announced by the Constitutional Council on January 13, 2024. He was previously the most qualified candidate to compete with the candidate supported by President Macky Sall, while the list included his friend Basiru.

This nomination was considered an alternative plan “B” for the “Patriots for Action, Ethics and Fraternity” party, especially since the rejection of Sonko’s candidacy was on the table in view of the regime’s position on him and the fact that he was convicted of two years in prison, and the most optimistic expectations did not place Basiro qualified to win in the first round.

In early February 2024, President Macky Sall announced the postponement of the elections indefinitely, then changed his mind after the decision of the Constitutional Council and under pressure from the Senegalese street.

In late February 2024, Sall - also under pressure from the street - announced an amnesty bill that includes Sonko, Basiro, and security personnel involved in assaulting demonstrators in the period between 2021 and 2024.

But Basiro, the candidate approved by the Constitutional Council, did not benefit from the implementation of this law until after mid-March 2024, that is, 6 days after the start of the electoral campaign.

Basiro Diomai Faye among his supporters during the election campaign on March 16, 2024 (Reuters)

Political programme

Basirou promised his voters to “re-establish” Senegal by “strengthening national sovereignty, fighting corruption, reviewing defense and fishing agreements, and renegotiating gas contracts with companies exploiting the newly discovered fields on the border with Mauritania.”

His electoral program included a promise to mint a national currency to replace the African franc, which he considers a colonial legacy that is crippling the economy. He goes further, proposing a new currency for the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to replace the franc, in addition to encouraging investment and developing infrastructure in the areas of transportation. Electricity and others.

Basiro did not have much time to present his political program to voters, and in addition to being released late from prison, he was prevented from displaying his propaganda messages directed at voters on official government television.

Winning the presidency

After the polls closed in Senegal on the evening of March 24, 2024 and the counting of the results of the first round of the presidential elections began, the numbers revealed that candidate Basiro Faye was ahead of the rest of the candidates.

A few hours later, a number of competitors took the initiative to congratulate him on his victory, and the next morning, candidate Amadou Ba, supported by President Macky Sall, announced his congratulations to Bassiro, and then the president himself tweeted his congratulations via the X platform.

Source: Al Jazeera + websites