After winning a first-round election on a platform of drastic reform just ten days after his release from prison, socialist pan-Africanist Bassirou Diomaye Faye became Senegal’s youngest president.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was among the African leaders present at the ceremony held in the new town of Diamniadio, close to Dakar, even though the 44-year-old had never held political office before.

“Before God and the Senegalese nation, I swear to faithfully fulfil the office of President of the Republic of Senegal,” Faye said before the audience yesterday.

He also vowed to “scrupulously observe the provisions of the Constitution and the laws” and to defend “the integrity of the territory and national independence, and to spare no effort to achieve African unity”.

The presidential palace in Dakar will host the official transition of power with outgoing President Macky Sall.

Not to be outdone by Sall, who attempted to postpone the poll, Faye was one of several political rivals released from prison ten days prior to the presidential election on March 24.

While he was still in custody, Faye’s campaign got underway.

In addition to being the first to publicly acknowledge being in a polygamous marriage, the former tax inspector is additionally the state’s fifth president following its 1960 independence from France.

In his victory speech, Faye, along with his populist mentor Ousmane Sonko—who was disqualified from the election—stated their top priorities as combating corruption, alleviating the burden of living expenses, and promoting national reconciliation.

The head of the anti-establishment movement has pledged to reclaim national sovereignty over vital resources including the fisheries, oil, and gas industries.