Foreign
Faye Officially Declared Winner Of Senegal’s Presidential Election
Following the conclusion of collation of votes, Mr Diomaye Faye has officially been declared winner of the presidential election in Senegal, winning 54.28% of votes in the first round.
Reports from the country’s vote counting commission, which falls under the judiciary, stated that Faye placed well ahead of the governing coalition’s candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba, who had 35.79% of the votes.
The victory for Faye, who was only freed from prison 10 days before the election, still has to be validated by Senegal’s top constitutional body, which could happen in a few days.
Faye, 44, who has said he wants a “break” with the current political system, is set to become the youngest president in Senegal’s history.
It would be the first time since independence from France in 1960 that an opponent has won in the first round.
Aliou Mamadou Dia, who came third out of 19 candidates officially on the list, won just 2.8 percent of the vote, according to figures read out at the Dakar court by the president of the national vote counting commission, Amady Diouf.
While his victory in Sunday’s vote was already clear after the publication of unofficial partial results, the margin of Faye’s win was confirmed by the vote counting commission, which falls under the judiciary.
The turnout of 61.30 percent was less than in 2019 when outgoing President Macky Sall won a second term in the first-round, but more than in 2012.
The announcement of the official provisional results seems to clear the way for a handover of power between Sall and his successor.
The political crisis triggered by Sall’s last-minute postponement of the vote, and the subsequently rushed electoral timetable, cast doubt on whether the handover could take place before the incumbent’s term officially ends on April 2.
But a swift handover now seems feasible in the West African nation, which prides itself on its stability and democratic principles in a coup-hit region, provided no appeals are made.
Presidential candidates have 72 hours after the results are announced by the commission to lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Council.
The Constitution states that if no appeals are made in this period, “the Council shall immediately proclaim the final results of the ballot”.
But if an objection is made, the Council has five days to rule and could, in theory, annul the election.
‘Humility, transparency’
Faye, who has never before held elected office, is set to become the fifth president of the West African country of around 18 million people.
His fellow presidential candidates, and Sall, have recognised his victory.
Sunday’s election was preceded by three years of tension and deadly unrest, with Senegal plunged into a fresh political crisis in February when Sall decided to delay the presidential poll.
Dozens have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021, with the country’s democratic credentials coming under scrutiny.
Faye himself was detained for months before his release in the middle of the election campaign.
International observers hailed the smooth running of Sunday’s vote.
The African Union’s observation mission commended the “political and democratic maturity of the Senegalese people (and) the generally peaceful political atmosphere of the presidential election”.
Faye has promised to restore national “sovereignty” and implement a programme of “left-wing pan-Africanism”.
His election could herald a profound overhaul of Senegal’s institutions.
On Monday he pledged “to govern with humility, with transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels”.
He said he would prioritise “national reconciliation”, “rebuilding institutions” and “significantly reducing the cost of living”.
But he also sought to reassure foreign partners.
Senegal “will remain a friendly country and a sure and reliable ally for any partner that engages with us in virtuous, respectful and mutually productive cooperation,” he pledged.
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to “stop the transgender lunacy” on day one of his presidency, as Republicans — set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House — continue their push against LGBTQ rights.
“I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools,” the president-elect said at an event for young conservatives in Phoenix, Arizona.
He also vowed to “keep men out of women’s sports,” adding that “it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
Speaking to the AmericaFest conference in a border state he easily carried in the November election, Trump further promised immediate measures against “migrant crime,” vowed to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and doubled down on his talk of restoring US control of the Panama Canal.
Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as Democratic- and Republican-controlled states have moved in opposite directions on policy such as medical treatment and what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.
Last week, when the US Congress approved its annual defense budget, it included a provision to block funding of some gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members.
In his speech Sunday, which amounted to something of a victory lap, Trump made expansive promises for his second term — and drew a dark picture of the four years preceding it, under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the latter of whom he defeated in the 2024 election.
“On January 20, the United States will turn the page forever on four long, horrible years of failure, incompetence, national decline, and we will inaugurate a new era of peace, prosperity and national greatness,” Trump said, referring to his swearing-in.
– ‘Golden age’ –
“I will end the war in Ukraine. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East, and I will prevent, I promise, World War III.”
He added: “The golden age of America is upon us.”
Fresh Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 25 Palestinians, according to medics.
The casualties on Friday included at least eight people in an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp and 10 others in the town of Jabalia, among them seven children.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have yet to succeed.
Sources involved in the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had resolved some points of contention but key issues remain unresolved.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza following Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of 1200 people and the abduction of over 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports.
Israel states that approximately 100 hostages are still being held, though it is unclear how many remain alive.
Gaza authorities report that Israel’s ongoing campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced the majority of the 2.3 million residents.
Much of the territory has reportedly been devastated by the conflict.
President Biden signed the stopgap funding bill that will keep the government open until March, punting the thornier issues surrounding the nation’s finances to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
A bloated 1,500-page funding measure was exploded by Trump and his top ally Elon Musk earlier this week as they demanded a pared-down version.
The parties were able to cobble a stopgap bill together Friday evening, which passed the Senate early Saturday morning.
The package funds the government at current levels until March 14, 2025, and includes $100 billion in hurricane relief funds and $10 billion in aid to farmers.
With the stopgap funding only running until March, an almost certain clash is looming between Trump and GOP spending hardliners when Congress reconvenes in January.
“The bipartisan funding bill I just signed keeps the government open and delivers the urgently needed disaster relief that I requested for recovering communities as well as the funds needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Biden said in a statement after inking the deal.
The post Biden signs bipartisan funding bill to keep government open appeared first on New York Post.
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