Senegal ruling party wins parliamentary majority

DAKAR, Senegal

Senegal's ruling party won over three-quarters of parliamentary seats in weekend elections, according to national provisional results announced Thursday, potentially handing them the means to deliver their ambitious reform agenda.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's Pastef party secured 130 seats in the west African country's 165-seat national assembly, according to tally of figures given by the national vote-counting commission, confirmed by a Pastef official.

The results from Sunday's vote remain provisional, pending confirmation by the Constitutional Council within a five-day period.

Highly influential and charismatic Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was the lead candidate for Pastef, is considered the mastermind behind the legislative landslide.

The new government must address the expectations of the hard-up Senegalese population, after promising profound change in the form of leftist Pan-Africanism.

Faye and Sonko swept to victory in March pledging economic transformation, social justice and a fight against corruption –- raising hopes among a largely youthful population facing high inflation and widespread unemployment.

But an opposition-led parliament hampered the government's first months in power, leading Faye to dissolve the chamber in September and call snap elections as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so.

The pair have vowed to diversify political and economic partnerships, review hydrocarbon and fishing contracts and re-establish Senegal's sovereignty, which they claimed had been sold abroad.