Macky Sall sworn in as Senegal's president

Macky Sall sworn in as Senegal's president

2012-04-03 07:25:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAKAR, SENEGAL (BNO NEWS) -- The newly elected president of Senegal, Macky Sall, was sworn into office on Monday to become the country's new leader in 12 years. He will succeed long-time president Abdoulaye Wade.

Sall, 50, won the second round of voting on March 25 over Wade and is set to formally take office on Tuesday, becoming Senegal's fourth president since 1960, when the nation became independent from French Sudan.

During the first round of voting on February 26, Wade received 34.81 percent of the votes against Sall's 26.5 percent. Because none of the candidates reached a majority of the votes, a run-off was held last month, resulting in 65.80 percent of the votes for Sall after he received the support of other presidential candidates who ran against Wade and Sall in the first round.

Wade was previously elected to two consecutive presidential terms, the first which began in April 2000. The first term was seven years long while the second term was five years long, and Sall promised during his election campaign to establish two five-year presidential terms as a maximum.

"I swear to faithfully fulfill the office of president," Sall said on Monday as he took the oath of office.

In 2008, Senegal's constitution established that presidents could only serve a maximum of two terms, but 85-year-old Wade pushed for his third term, arguing that his first term should not be considered as the new rule was introduced after it had ended.

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