Senegal backs Macky Sall’s un bid, a move rooted in diplomacy over rivalry
Diomaye Faye’s decisive nod to Macky Sall’s UN ambitions
Three days after welcoming him at the Palais de la République, Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, made a bold diplomatic choice: his government would provide full and unwavering support to Macky Sall’s candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General. While this endorsement carries weight, its impact on the final outcome remains uncertain.
This decision signals a clear shift from personal tensions to national interest. Days before his election, Diomaye Faye was released from Cap Manuel prison, where he had been held since April 2023 under charges tied to the repression of Ousmane Sonko’s movement. His swift liberation—just ten days before the vote—came through a presidential pardon granted amid pre-election turmoil. Sonko, his political mentor, had been barred from running in the 2024 presidential election after being jailed himself. Yet Diomaye Faye’s victory reshaped Senegal’s political landscape overnight. His rise from incarceration to the presidency marked an unprecedented journey, one that once framed his administration’s narrative around dismantling Macky Sall’s alleged authoritarian legacy.
Today, Diomaye Faye hosts his predecessor not as a rival, but as a statesman advancing Senegal’s global standing. The presidency has framed this move as a transcendence of political rivalries, emphasizing a unified front in pursuing an agenda deemed vital for Africa and multilateralism. The entire Senegalese diplomatic network has been mobilized to champion Macky Sall’s bid.
From confrontation to conciliation: the turning point
The rift between Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko—his former prime minister—proved pivotal. Sonko, once the driving force behind the anti-Sall rhetoric, was dismissed in May, freeing the president from a political constraint that had long tied his hands. With Sonko sidelined, Diomaye Faye could now prioritize national diplomacy over partisan grievances. His decision to back Macky Sall reflects this newfound latitude.
Strategically, this move also serves Diomaye Faye’s own political ambitions. He is preparing to launch a new party, drawing support from networks within the former regime, including figures close to Macky Sall and Abdoulaye Wade. The goal? To build an electoral machine capable of securing his re-election in 2029. During Macky Sall’s recent visit to Dakar, the warmth of the reception underscored his enduring popularity.
A candidacy strengthened, but not guaranteed
For Macky Sall, Senegal’s endorsement is transformative. His March candidacy, backed by Burundi on behalf of the African Union’s rotating presidency, faced a critical flaw: the absence of support from his own country. In global diplomacy, such silence is often interpreted as disapproval, weakening a candidate long before votes are cast. With Dakar’s official backing and the full mobilization of Senegal’s diplomatic corps, Sall now presents himself as a candidate endorsed by his nation—denying rivals a key argument against him.
Yet this backing does not ensure victory. The UN Secretary-General role traditionally follows an unwritten continental rotation, and Latin America is next in line after a 33-year hiatus—since Javier Pérez de Cuéllar’s tenure in 1991. Of the five declared candidates, four hail from the region: Rafael Grossi (Argentina), Michelle Bachelet (Chile, though her government withdrew support in March), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), and María Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador). This regional preference looms large in the UN General Assembly.
Macky Sall remains the sole non-Latin American candidate—and the only former head of state in the race. While Africa has not held the post since Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the 1990s, this historical gap does not override regional custom. Senegal’s support has fortified his bid but cannot alone overcome the structural obstacle of Latin American precedence.
The real test lies with the UN Security Council, where five permanent members wield veto power. Sall enjoys cordial relations with both France—where he campaigned for the presidency—and Russia, with whom he met in Moscow after securing Senegal’s backing. His balanced diplomacy, including Senegal’s abstention on the Ukraine resolution in March 2022, suggests he is not a polarizing figure. Yet the final verdict on his candidacy will only come this autumn.
