Senegal reverses position, endorses former president Macky Sall for UN chief
Dakar announced on Monday a striking diplomatic reversal, throwing its weight behind former president Macky Sall’s candidacy to succeed Antonio Guterres as Secretary-General of the United Nations. The shift ends a period in which Senegal’s current leadership had refused to support Sall’s bid, citing accusations of deadly political repression during his time in office.
The change of heart follows a weekend visit by Sall to Dakar, where he met with the sitting president. The encounter appears to have eased tensions sufficiently for the government to publicly endorse his candidacy for the world’s top diplomatic post. Senegal had previously said it would not back its former leader, a stance that had complicated Sall’s path to securing African Union-wide support for the position.
A contested legacy
Sall, who led Senegal from 2012 until 2024, left office under a cloud of controversy. His tenure was marked by episodes of political unrest, and the government that succeeded his has accused him of responsibility for deadly crackdowns on protesters during his final years in power. Those accusations had initially placed Dakar firmly in the camp of African leaders skeptical of Sall’s international ambitions.
Competition for the UN’s top job
The position of UN Secretary-General is set to open following the end of Guterres’s term, and the race has attracted several candidates from across the globe. African nations have long argued that the continent is due another occupant of the role, and the African Union has sought to rally behind a single continental candidate. Senegal’s endorsement strengthens Sall’s hand in that effort, even as rival candidacies continue to be discussed within diplomatic circles.
Monday’s announcement signals a pragmatic recalibration rather than a full reconciliation. By backing Sall’s UN bid, Dakar appears to have chosen to set aside its political differences with its former president in the interest of supporting an African candidacy for one of the most prominent positions in global governance.
Source: FRANCE 24 — read the original report.
