Senegal’s newly sworn-in president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has appointed popular opposition figure and his close ally Ousmane Sonko as the country’s prime minister.
This is Faye’s first act as the youngest democratically-elected president of Africa.
Aljazeera reports that Bassirou Diomaye Faye made the announcement shortly after he was sworn into office on Tuesday, pledging systemic change after years of deadly turmoil under his predecessor, Macky Sall, a political opponent of Sonko.
Speaking after his appointment, Sonko said he would present Faye with a full list of proposed ministerial appointments for his approval.
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“There will be no question of leaving him (Faye) alone to assume this heavy responsibility”, Sonko said.
Faye took the presidential oath in front of hundreds of officials and several African heads of state at an exhibition centre in the new town of Diamniadio, near the capital, Dakar.
Faye, 44, has never previously held elected office. He swept to a first-round victory on a promise of radical reform just 10 days after being released from prison.
Lena Sene, an economist based in Dakar, told Al Jazeera that Faye faces a “very difficult” challenge as president.
“You cannot change an entire administration in one day. He understands that he has to put systems in place in order to fight corruption. He is ready for that,” she said.
Additional reporting from Al Jazeera
