Senegal’s youngest president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been sworn in. He promised “systemic change” at the head of state, “more sovereignty” as well as appeasement after years of agitation. Times are displayed in universal time.
Investiture of Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Bassirou Diomaye Faye just after taking the oath gives her speech. Screenshot © RTS via Reuters
13H24
“A COUNTRY OF HOPE”
Faye promises change
President Faye, in a blue suit and with confident words and appearance, took the oath of office in front of hundreds of Senegalese officials and several heads of state and African leaders at the Exhibition Center in the new town of Diamniadio, near Dakar.
He swore, “before God and before the Senegalese Nation, to faithfully fulfill the office of President of the Republic of Senegal”, to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence, and finally to spare no effort for the achievement of African unity.
In a brief speech after his oath, Bassirou Diomaye Faye said he was “aware” that his large victory in the first round of the presidential election on March 24 expressed “a deep desire for systemic change”. “Senegal under my leadership will be a country of hope, a peaceful country with independent justice and a strengthened democracy,” he said.
He spoke of the three years of unrest that preceded his election, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests. He assured that he would keep in mind the sacrifices made by the “martyrs of democracy, (the) amputees, (the) injured and (the) former prisoners (…) in order to never disappoint you”.
Source: tv5
2024-04-02 14:57:58