With only a few hours remaining until the official inauguration of President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, preparations are in full swing for the solemn swearing-in and installation ceremony in Diamniadio, Senegal, scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2. The event, a tradition dating back to 1963, will see the son of Ndiandiaye assume the presidency of the Republic of Senegal.

President-elect Faye, a tax and land inspector, secured his position as the 5th President of the Republic of Senegal on the evening of March 24, winning in the first round with 54.28% of the votes. The ceremony is expected to be attended by several heads of state and government from across Africa.

Heads of State, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and presidents of institutions from the African continent arrived in Dakar on Monday to participate in the swearing-in ceremony. Among those who landed at the Léopold Sédar Senghor military airport were President Adama Barrow of The Gambia, President Umaru Cissokho Umballo of Guinea Bissau, and President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone. They were welcomed by Prime Minister Sidiki Kaba.

Also arriving on Monday were the vice-president of Côte d’Ivoire, Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, the president of the National Transitional Council in Mali, Colonel Malick Diaw, and Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop. The President of the African Union, Moussa Faki, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, and the President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, landed at Blaise Diagne International Airport.

The presidents of Guinea, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mauritania, among others, are expected to arrive on Tuesday morning for the ceremony, which promises to be a significant moment in Senegal’s history.

The day’s events will commence at 8:00 a.m. with the reception of guests at the Diamniadio Exhibition Center. The arrival of members of the Constitutional Council is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., with Foreign Heads of State and Government expected between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to participate in this significant national event.

At 10:40 a.m., President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye will make his entrance, greeted by members of the Constitutional Council before taking his place in the Waiting Room.

The official session will kick off at 11:00 a.m. with the announcement of the program by the master of ceremonies. The members of the Constitutional Council will then enter the room between 11:05 a.m. and 11:10 a.m., followed by the opening of the session by the President of the Constitutional Council.

At 11:20 a.m., the decision proclaiming the results of the presidential election of March 24, 2024, will be read by the Head of the Registry, preceding an official speech by the President of the Constitutional Council at 11:25 a.m.

The peak of the ceremony will be at 11:40 a.m. when tax and estate inspector Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be sworn in as the new President of the Republic of Senegal. He will then receive the Sash of the Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion and the Collar of the Grand Master of the National Order of the Lion between 11:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

Closing the ceremony, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye will deliver his inauguration speech at 12:00 p.m., followed by the reception of congratulations from the Constitutional Council, the first ladies of the foreign leaders present, and the presidents of the National Assembly at 12:30 p.m.