When Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved parliament on Sept. 12, it was still under the control of the former ruling coalition, Benno Bokk Yaakaar, or United With Hope. In calling for the early elections, Faye said that he wanted a comfortable majority to be able to carry out the profound reforms he had promised when he was elected to the top office in March.
On Nov. 17, Senegalese voters heeded his call, handing Faye’s party Pastef a landslide victory in the snap elections. According to the official results from the national electoral commission and confirmed by the Constitutional Council, Pastef won 130 of the 165 seats at stake. The overwhelming majority means Faye will now be in a position to implement his reform agenda. But having raised expectations, he will now have to deliver to the Senegalese who have placed their hopes in him.
A Reshaped Political Landscape
Pastef’s victory in the polls opens a new page in Senegal’s political history, in that it completes the reshaping of the political landscape that began several years ago when Faye’s mentor, current Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, emerged as the primary leader of the opposition to former President Mack Sall. That reconfiguration continued with Faye’s election as president in March and culminated in the popular mandate he received three weeks ago.