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Senegal's youngest president appointed ally and in style opposition chief Ousmane Sonko as prime minister.
Senegal's new president has appointed firebrand politician and key supporter Ousmane Sonko as prime minister in his first act as chief of the West African nation.
Bassirou Diomaye Fay made the announcement shortly after taking the oath of workplace on Tuesday and promising systemic change after years of lethal turmoil below his predecessor, Sonko's political rival, Macky Sall.
Talking after his appointment, Sonko mentioned he would current the complete listing of proposed ministerial appointments to Faye for his approval.
“There could be no query of leaving her (Faye) alone to deal with this large duty,” Sonko mentioned.
Faye took the oath of workplace in entrance of lots of of officers and several other African heads of state at an exhibition heart within the new city of Diamantio, close to the capital Dakar.
Faye, 44, has by no means held elected workplace earlier than. Simply 10 days after his launch from jail, he received the primary spherical on the promise of radical reforms.
Dakar-based economist Lina Sene informed Al Jazeera that Faye faces a “very troublesome” problem as president.
“You can not change your entire administration in a day. He understands that he has to place techniques in place to battle corruption. He's prepared for it,'' he mentioned.
Sonko, 49, was on the heart of a two-year standoff with the state that sparked the lethal unrest.
Fashionable amongst Senegal's youth, he was disqualified from working within the March 24 presidential race because of a defamation conviction, and Faye was chosen as his substitute for the presidency. He denied any wrongdoing.
Campaigning collectively below the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko”, Sonko urged supporters to vote for his prime lieutenant, Faye, who in the end received with greater than 54 % of the vote within the first spherical.
financial challenges
Faye, a former tax inspector, is the fifth president of Senegal since independence from France in 1960.
Acknowledging the nation's need for “systemic change”, he pledged to strengthen the nation's democracy and set up an unbiased judiciary.
Working alongside his populist mentor, Faye now faces the problem of pursuing nationwide reconciliation, whereas additionally assuaging the cost-of-living disaster, preventing corruption and standing as somebody who is not going to be beholden to Sonko. To be seen.
He has additionally promised to revive nationwide sovereignty over key belongings reminiscent of oil, gasoline and fishing areas.
The brand new authorities additionally must create sufficient jobs in a rustic the place 75 % of the 18 million inhabitants is below the age of 35, and the unemployment fee is formally 20 %.
