President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Monday visited the General Khalifes of Touba and Tivaouane, two communities to which most Sufi Muslims in the country belong.
This first official trip outside Dakar by the new head of state was closely watched by many political observers.
President Faye visited the holy cities of Touba and Tivaouane on Monday 15 April, two weeks after his inauguration, a move welcomed by many followers of the Mouride and Tidianiya brotherhoods.
Some critics of the new government expressed reservations about the arrival in power of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his prime minister, Ousmane Sonko.
They feared that these two figures, associated with systemic antagonism, would pursue plans that ran counter to the interests of the religious brotherhoods, despite the fact that the vast majority of Senegal’s population is Muslim.
Criticism intensified when the two leaders did not suspend their campaign to seek the blessing of the Khalifes General, unlike the defeated ruling party candidate in the first round, Amadou Ba.
Amadou Ba polled 35.79% of the vote against 54.28% for Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was declared the candidate of the sovereignist party, the former Pastef, after Ousmane Sonko’s candidacy was declared invalid by the constitutional council.
President Faye received by the Khalif of the Tidiane branch of Tivaouane
Accompanied by his interior and transport ministers, the 44-year-old president was received with respect by the Khalif General of the Mourides, Serigne Mountakha Mbacké. His modest speech in Touba highlighted two major challenges facing the town: access to drinking water and flooding. He reiterated his commitment to solving these problems once and for all.
In Tivaouane, one of the bastions of Tidianiya in Senegal, President Diomaye Faye was received in the evening by the General Khalifa, Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour.
He reaffirmed his commitment to continuing the modernisation projects initiated by his predecessor, Macky Sall, and expressed his support for the completion of the great mosque in Tivaouane.
