Cape Verdean President José Maria Neves congratulated Bassira Diomaye Faye on his election as Senegal’s new head of state in a message published online.
“I congratulate the elected President of Senegal, Bassira Diomaye Faye, for his brilliant victory in the first round,” José Maria Neves wrote on Facebook on Monday.
The Cape Verdean president said he now hopes to “work closely with the new president, strengthening the relationship of friendship and cooperation” between Cape Verde and Senegal.
Anti-system opponent Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was in prison 10 days ago, will become Senegal’s youngest president at 44 after Sunday’s victory.
He will become the fifth president in the history of the West African country of 18 million people.
The election is being described as a political earthquake: for the first time in 12 presidential elections with universal suffrage, an opposition candidate won the first round.
The election was closely watched abroad as Senegal is considered one of West Africa’s most stable countries, rocked by coups.