Faye was released from prison less than two weeks before the March 24 election, along with popular opposition figure and mentor Ousmane Sonko, following a political amnesty announced by outgoing President Macky Sall. It is the former tax inspector’s first time in elected office.
Faye took over from immediate past president Macky Sall on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in an event witnessed by African leaders in the new town of Diamniadio, near the capital Dakar.
“Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfill the office of President of the Republic of Senegal,” the now president of Senegal said before hundreds of officials and several African heads of state at an exhibition center near the country’s capital Dakar.
Nigeria’s President who is also the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of States and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was also in attendance.
Faye is currently the youngest elected president on the African continent.