Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Senegal’s president-elect will take office in April after winning the March 24 presidential election.
The former tax inspector went into the race as the main opposition candidate, after his boss, the widely-loved Ousmane Sonko was barred by the courts from the elections because of statutory convictions on high crimes.
Two days to the election (March 22, 2024), Diomaye Faye publicly published his full assets on his official Facebook page and challenged the other 18 contenders to do the same. Per GhanaWeb checks, none took the challenge.
According to the document, he had two houses built when he was in public service and owned two cars, all second-hand.
He also operated two bank accounts and lived in a house that he built himself. The document also confirmed that he was into farming and his main debt was to a friend who he had taken a loan from to invest in his farm.
The 44-year-old has been celebrated by many on social media for openness even before he takes over from outgoing president Macky Sall.
He has stated that he would as required by law submit the document to the Constitutional Court when he takes office.
Here are key facts about Senegal’s next president
a. He was released from jail on March 16 along with Sonko.
b. Faye and Sonko are leaders of the Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Ethique et la Fraternité (Pastef), a party dissolved in July 2023.
c. He had spent 335 days in pre-trial detention for “contempt of court” and “calling for insurrection” among other charges.
d. He celebrated his 44th birthday on March 25, 2024, the day he was announced winner of the vote.
e. In 2014, at the age of 34, Faye, an alumnus of the Ecole Nationale de l’Administration (ENA), made his mark during the meetings that led to the creation of Pastef.
f. He would go on to become one of the ideologues and designers of Sonko’s program for his presidential candidacy in 2019. It was a stroke of genius: In his first election, the Pastef leader garnered almost 16% of the vote and came third, a Le Monde profile noted.
g. President Macky Sall and the ruling party candidate, Amadou Ba, and other opponents have since congratulated him for victory.
h. He becomes the 5th president of Senegal, one of Africa’s most stable democracies. Reputed to not have had a military intervention since independence.
i. Diomaye Faye has two wives, which development has attracted a lot of reactions on social media.
In his victory speech posted on social media, he outlined four immediate priorities.
“In view of the emergencies that confront us and the hope placed in us, we are working relentlessly, diligently and methodically around priority projects:
1- National reconciliation and the reconstruction of the foundations of our living together;
2- The rebuilding of institutions
3- Significant reduction in the cost of living to alleviate the burdens of daily life;
4- National inclusive sectoral consultations on the evaluation and relaunch of public policies.
“We will walk together, act together and succeed together! Long live Senegal; Long live the Republic; Long live Africa,” he stated.
This is how it should be when someone assumes office as president. Everyone knows his “before” and “after” assets.
This means his intention, from the very start, is good. He does not plan to steal. Of course things may change, but then people will know. So this declaration will keep him correct to his starting position, and he is unlikely to diverge.
Here in Zambia, he has refused to declare his assets. That is the behaviour of a conman. And this is where he lost my vote. Even more shady than slim shady himself.
Will the real slim shady please stand up, please stand up, please stand up!
Vote wisely in 2026.
That is how naive you can be and can be even worse. It’s like you have a curse and working under a spell. Not surprising, you yo ma PF cadres can’t even think deeply.
Cant you see that the French intelligence has infiltrated the whole Senegalese political movement. They have got their stooge in that clueless little boy. Without proper assets, where do you think he got the money for presidential campaigns to win the elections? Please use your head although you actually have no brains!!
Why do you think the outgoing president Sall postponed those elections for more than 6 months? Was it not to give the French intelligence to organise and rig an election for a populist but amateur clueless politician?
And you are here celebrating for nothing when that boy is nothing but a front for the French interests. They have lost their hold on Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, do you think they were going to let Senegal go? Why do you think M Sall suddenly postponed their election without a proper reason? And we have dumb Africans like you celebrating without thinking! Please be sensible
That is how naive you can be and can be even worse. It’s like you have a curse and working under a spell. Not surprising, you yo ma PF cadres can’t even think deeply.
Cant you see that the French intelligence has infiltrated the whole Senegalese political movement. They have got their stooge in that clueless little boy. Without proper assets, where do you think he got the money for presidential campaigns to win the elections? Please use your head although you actually have no brains!!
Why do you think the outgoing president Sall postponed those elections for more than 6 months? Was it not to give the French intelligence to organise and rig an election for a populist but amateur clueless politician?
And you are here celebrating for nothing when that boy is nothing but a front for the French interests. They have lost their hold on Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, do you think they were going to let Senegal go? Why do you think M Sall suddenly postponed their election without a proper reason? And we have dumb Africans like you celebrating without thinking! Please be wise and be sensible.
The younger Senegalese President makes more sense than the older ones we have in Africa. He starts off by being transparent about his assets so that people will know at the end of his tenure whether or not he has ill-gotten wealth. Compare him to our very own who started off not telling us what he owns. As they say, secrecy breeds corruption. Why hide if you know you are clean? The Senegalese leader should be a source of inspiration to all who seek public office. Not those who hide their assets by saying the law does not demand of them to declare their assets even when they know doing so is a matter of public morality of leading by example. Besides, morality is broader than law and its basis.
Congratulations .. Africa needs such young people who are not tainted by ill gotten wealth. Our Mingalatoon can’t declare his assets..and he thinks he is the best thing to have happened in Africa ! Just some mediocre leader with a murky past in Privatisation, whose two other musketeers continue getting fake Consultancy jobs in the mines, energy, Agriculture…proxies for him as he sniffs out Dollars and resources in our country.
Report him to the authorities
I see people jumping up and down but fail to read the article.
This man is following the law per the Senegal Constitution and I quote from the article.
“He has stated that he would as required by law submit the document to the Constitutional Court when he takes office.”
Didnt some people/organisation sue at the Zambian Constitutional court for The President to Publish his personal wealth (Assets/Liabilities)? What did the courts say?
All Candidates in the 2021 availed their financial status per the law. If the Public has not been granted access by ECZ, there provisions in the law sue for the same.
I honestly wonder if the same folks would even understand the document, given that they cant read a simple article like this.
What do they stand to gain, apart from malicious inuendo that tgey would spread on the assets that a shrewd man aquired. To quote him…”muli ndwee” while your friends are working hard. Na Ma PhD….