Macky Sall returns to Senegal to campaign for UN secretary-general post
Former Senegalese President Macky Sall will make his first public visit to Senegal since leaving office to campaign for the post of UN secretary-general.
Former Senegalese President Macky Sall is set to return to Senegal on Friday for his first public visit since leaving office in 2024, as he seeks support for his campaign to become the next United Nations secretary-general. Sall, who now lives in Morocco, is expected to meet President Bassirou Diomaye Faye before departing the country the same day. He described the visit as part of consultations linked to his candidacy and said he plans to return later to meet supporters.
Sall remains a controversial figure after his failed attempt to delay the 2024 presidential election, which sparked deadly protests before being overturned by the Constitutional Council. He also faces criticism following allegations that his administration understated Senegal’s debt and budget deficit, claims he denies. Senegal’s Court of Auditors said Sall’s government understated debt and deficit figures, implying about $7 billion in hidden borrowing, a number that later ballooned and was estimated by S&P Global Ratings at about $13 billion as of last July, a quarter of the country’s $40 billion economy.
The United Nations is expected to appoint its next secretary-general this year for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2027. Sall is among five candidates so far. If successful, Sall would become the third African to hold the position, succeeding António Guterres and following Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ghana’s Kofi Annan.
The Nigerian stake is clear. The UN secretary-general is the world’s top diplomat, and an African in that position would have significant influence over issues affecting the continent, including peacekeeping, development and climate change. Nigeria has a strategic interest in the outcome of the selection process.
From a Nigerian vantage point, Sall’s candidacy is a reminder of the importance of diplomatic influence. Nigeria has not produced a UN secretary-general, and the country’s diplomatic corps has sometimes struggled to assert itself on the global stage. Senegal’s push for Sall is a lesson in diplomatic ambition.
This echoes the 1996 election of Kofi Annan as UN secretary-general, which was seen as a victory for African diplomacy. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: African countries asserting their influence on the global stage.
The winners: Sall, if he secures the position; Senegal, which gains prestige; and Africa, which would have another representative at the UN’s helm. The losers: Sall’s opponents, who question his record; and the other candidates, who face a well-connected rival.
Bottom Line: Macky Sall is back in Senegal, campaigning for the UN’s top job. His record is controversial. His ambition is clear. The question is whether the world will trust him with the world’s most important diplomatic post.