Senegal divided over former president Macky Sall's candidacy for UN chief

Macky Sall to succeed United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres? Not everyone in Senegal likes the idea. Victims of the violence in 2021 and 2024 under the former president’s regime are strongly opposed. So are some of ruling majority, including this Member of Parliament for PASTEF.

“The UN must not become a laundering place for blood crimes and economic crimes," says Guy Marius Sagna, "and the former president of Senegal, Macky Sall, committed and encouraged blood crimes and economic crimes in Senegal.”

Sall’s supporters deny the accusations and are downplaying the opposition to their leader’s candidacy. Here, at the headquarters of his party, the Alliance for the Republic (APR), the focus is on mobilization. According to party members, the former president meets all the requirements to lead the UN.

Mamadou Kassé is a member of the APR directorate:

“He has been at the heart of the major issues that were meant to place Africa at the center of the world. Africa’s permanent seat in the G20 through the African Union was his achievement; the meeting with Vladimir Putin in the middle of the Russia-Ukraine war was his achievement, among other international initiatives.

"So it is Africa at the center. It is therefore not surprising that after putting Senegal at the center and Africa at the center, he should now be at the center of the global debate at a time when multilateralism is facing some difficulties.”

Sall’s candidacy is supported by much of the political class and by the country's trade unions.

Writer and social mediator Badou Ndao says it's time to end the quarrel.

“For the higher interest of Senegal, if Macky Sall becomes the Secretary-General of the UN, that is what history will remember. When you are at a crossroads of history, you must choose the right path, and Senegal has no interest in displaying its internal divisions to the world.”

Sall’s candidacy was put forward by the President of Burundi, the current chair of the African Union. But at home, he's still awaiting support from Senegalese authorities.