Claim: “Senegalese opposition politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye is the youngest leader on the African Continent.”
Verdict: Misleading; Faye is the youngest elected African leader, not the youngest leader in Africa.
Full Text: George Weah is the immediate past President of Liberia, whom President Joseph Boakai defeated in the country’s run-up election in 2023. Weah congratulated his successor Boakai long before the pronouncement of the official election result by the National Elections Commission, something that the world congratulated him for.
Before becoming Liberia’s 25th President, he played professional football, which earned him accolades.
On his Twitter Page, he congratulated Senegalese opposition politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected on Sunday, March 24, 2024.
“I extend warm congratulations to Senegalese opposition politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in the country’s presidential elections, which has now propelled him to becoming the youngest leader on the African continent.”
The post received 31 comments, 64.5k views, 2.8K reactions, and 445 retweets.
The first trends of Sunday’s presidential election give a large lead to Bassirou Diomaye Faye, candidate of the dissolved PASTEF party.
Almost all of the candidates in Sunday’s presidential election also congratulated Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the “Diomaye President” coalition, whose initial trends placed them largely in the lead at the end of the first round.
Faye, 44, was named the PASTEF party’s presidential candidate after Ousmane Sonko was removed from the race due to defamation charges.
More than 7 million Senegalese registered on electoral lists went to the polls on Sunday to elect the successor to outgoing President Macky Sall, one of 17 candidates running. The winner of this vote becomes the fifth president of Senegal since its independence in 1960. The country has been successively led by Léopold Sédar Senghor (1960–1988), Abdou Diouf (1980–2000), Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012) and Macky Sall (2012–2024).
Verification: Is Faye Africa’s youngest leader, as claimed by Weah?
Ibrahim Traoré (age 36) came to power in Burkina Faso on September 30, 2022, after a coup that toppled temporary President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
Mahamat Deby, Chad (age 39), is a four-star general who now serves as Chad’s interim president. He gained his present role in 2021, following the death of his father, former President Idriss Déby.
Mamady Doumbouya, 44 years old, is a Guinean military commander, who has served as the country’s interim president since October 1, 2021. Doumbouya staged a coup on September 5, 2021, that deposed the former president, Alpha Condé.
Business Insider articles unveiled the presidents under 50 years old and the top 10 youngest presidents in Africa.
The BBC reported that Faye is the first elected young president in Africa; the same was also reported by the Economist.
Conclusion: Former President George Weah is incorrect to say Faye is the youngest leader in Africa but it is a fact that Faye is Africa’s first elected-youngest leader.
