Senegal’s President, Diomaye Faye, has been elected Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Faye was elected at the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, succeeding Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio.
Bio assumed the rotating chairmanship in June 2025 after taking over from Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu at the 67th Ordinary Session of the Authority in Abuja, bringing Tinubu’s two-term leadership of the regional bloc to an end.
Faye assumes office at a critical time for ECOWAS as the regional organisation grapples with worsening security challenges, democratic backsliding and the continued withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the bloc.
As chairman, he is expected to prioritise efforts to restore confidence in ECOWAS and sustain diplomatic engagement with the three Sahel nations in a bid to ease tensions and foster regional cooperation.
At 46, Faye becomes one of the youngest leaders to chair the regional body, a development observers say could inject fresh momentum into ECOWAS’ reform agenda, particularly in the areas of governance, institutional credibility, accountability and youth inclusion.
His election also places Senegal at the forefront of key regional diplomatic and political initiatives as ECOWAS seeks to strengthen unity and address the bloc’s most pressing challenges.
