President Bola Tinubu has expressed happiness on the successful presidential election in Senegal and the general elections in Liberia.
He said that both processes helped promote democracy in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS, congratulated Mr. Bassirou Faye on becoming the President of Senegal. He also congratulated the current President Macky Sall for overseeing an election that was seen as peaceful and transparent.
Tinubu’s messages of congratulations were shared in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu congratulates President-elect Bassirou Dionaye Faye and the people of Senegal.’
Faye has been declared the President-elect of Senegal after winning the presidential election on Sunday, March 24, 2024.
The country’s electoral commission reported that over seven million people were registered to vote out of a total population of around 17 million Senegalese.
A civil society observer group called COSCE stated that voter turnout was over 61 percent. Candidates needed to receive more than 50 percent of the votes to win.
Although the Senegalese News Agency, APS, mentioned that the constitutional council would announce the final results on April 3, initial results indicated that the opposition candidate, Faye, received about 53.7 percent of the votes.
Additionally, former Prime Minister and candidate of the ruling coalition, Amadou Ba, obtained 36.2 percent based on counts from 90 percent of polling stations in the first-round vote, as reported by the electoral commission.
Ba, who was supported by the current President Sall, accepted his defeat after the initial results were announced.
Faye has since welcomed the move saying, “I salute the approach of the other candidates who, without exception, have honoured a very Senegalese tradition without even waiting for the official results to be announced by the authorised state bodies.”
Faye, a follower of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, promised to govern with humility, combat corruption, and safeguard Senegal from foreign influence and corruption.
Reacting to the developments, Tinubu noted that “President-elect Faye comes with great promise and a sterling record, wishing him success as he takes on this important job of leading the good people of Senegal.”
He expressed that the recent successful presidential election in Senegal and the general election in Liberia a few months ago confirmed his belief that democracy is firmly rooted in West Africa and will continue to strengthen with good governance, justice, and fairness.
As the Chairman of ECOWAS, Tinubu affirmed that the successful conduct of the Senegal election was “a boost to the sub-regional organisation in its efforts to promote peace and constitutional order, as well as strengthen ties among member states.”
He congratulated the people of Senegal and assured them of Nigeria’s support.
The election last Sunday was the first without a sitting president on the ballot due to term limits, preventing Sall from running for a third term.
