Meet Diomaye Faye, ex-prisoner striving for Senegal presidency

Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal is most likely to become the youngest democratically elected president in West Africa.

In an election with 19 candidates on the ballot, the 44-year-old, who was born in 1980, has established himself as the undisputed opposition leader.

Following the judges' exclusion of his boss, the adored Ousmane Sonko, from the elections scheduled for March 24, Faye became leadership of the opposition.

 

The vote marks the start of the end of departing President Macky Sall's two terms, since he has stated that his term would unquestionably finish on April 2.

Only a few weeks before the vote, Faye and his employer Sonko were awarded presidential amnesty after serving time in jail.

Here are key facts about the man who could be Senegal's next president

a. He and Sonko were both freed from prison on March 16.

e. Since then, five rivals have congratulated him on winning the vote.

f. In 2014, during the discussions that resulted in the founding of Pastef, 34-year-old Faye, a graduate of the Ecole Nationale de l'Administration (ENA), left his imprint.

G. He would later turn into one of the strategists and ideologues of Sonko's 2019 presidential campaign platform. It was a brilliant move: the Pastef leader finished third in his first election with over 16% of the vote.