Senegal marked Thursday (4 Apr) the 64th anniversary of its independence from France.

The newly inaugurated President Bassirou Diomaye Faye attended the ceremony in Dakar.

According to the state news agency APS, this year’s celebrations were reduced to a flag-raising ceremony because of the uncertainty which prevailed ahead of the March 24th presidential poll.

President Faye conducted the troop review before greeting the heads of the country’s institutions.

Usually, Independence Day is celebrated with a civil-military parade in the vicinity of one of Senegal’s most emblematic squares, Dakar’s Nation Square.

This year’s edition is under the theme “Armed forces at the heart of national cohesion”.

The celebration took place one day after Faye’s first address to the nation.

Faye’s mentor Ousmane Sonko was named Prime Minister on Tuesday (Apr. 02).

The president ran on a platform of sovereignty and a change from years of rule by Senegal’s political class.

Senegalese now await the government to be unveiled.