Senegal's president dissolves parliament to call a snap legislative election

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament on Thursday, only six months after being elected to office on anti-establishment platform.

This move paves the way for a snap legislative election on November 17.

In a televised address to the nation, Faye appealed to voters to give his party a solid mandate to carry out, as he said, the promised transformation of the system.

Analysts believe that Faye's political party, known under the acronym PASTEF, has a great chance of securing a majority in the November parliamentary election. Analysts base this view on the margin of Faye's victory in the March presidential and on his popularity.

The Benno Bokk Yaakar opposition platform, led by the former President Macky Sall, criticized the move.

Faye, 44, won the presidential election in March less than 2 weeks after his release from prison, to become Africa’s youngest elected leader.

The president's rising popularity reflects widespread frustration among Senegal’s youth with the country’s direction — a common sentiment across Africa, which has the world’s youngest population and a number of political leaders that have been clinging to power for decades.

(AP)