Macky Sall withdraws from UN Secretary-General race

Former Senegalese President Macky Sall has withdrawn his candidacy for the location of United Countries secretary-general following opposition to his nomination and controversy over the African Union’s endorsement procedure.

In a put up on X on Saturday, Mr Sall stated his determination adopted an off-the-cuff vote hung on 16 October and consultations with Burundi’s President, Évariste Ndayishimiye, the present chairperson of the African Union (AU), and Senegalese President Bassirou Faye, the present chairperson of the Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS).

“Following the casual vote on October 16, 2026, for the election to the location of Secretary-Basic of the United Countries, and after consultations with His Excellency Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi, present Chairperson of the African Union, and His Excellency Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, President of the Republic of Senegal, present Chairperson of ECOWAS, I’ve determined to withdraw my candidacy for stated place,” he stated.

Mr Sall’s candidacy had confronted opposition over the process used to protected continental backing, with a number of international locations, together with Nigeria, wondering the method and the instances surrounding his nomination.

Debatable AU endorsement

Mr Sall was once first nominated by means of Burundi, whose president, Mr Ndayishimiye, assumed the rotating AU chairmanship on 14 February. The transfer raised questions on whether or not the nomination represented a countrywide initiative or a collective African endorsement.

AU procedures require candidacies to be submitted and reviewed by means of the Committee of Everlasting Representatives and the Ministerial Committee sooner than being offered to the Govt Council for a call by means of consensus or a two-thirds majority. The method is designed to permit collective scrutiny and session amongst member states.

On the other hand, Mr Sall’s title was once absent from the checklist of African candidacies offered to the Govt Council on the February AU summit and was once no longer officially mentioned by means of heads of state, in keeping with a record by means of Jeune Afrique.

Burundi due to this fact circulated a draft determination to UN and AU member states in an obvious try to protected formal continental endorsement for Mr Sall.

The draft determination set a 24-hour cut-off date for objections and required opposition from a minimum of one-third of eligible member states to dam the proposed endorsement. Eligibility was once limited to international locations that had met their AU monetary tasks and weren’t beneath suspension.

Twenty AU member states broke the silence, together with Algeria, South Africa, Liberia, Nigeria and Rwanda, in keeping with the AU. Fourteen officially objected, whilst six, together with Egypt, asked an extension of the cut-off date.

Senegal additionally distanced itself from the method, announcing it had no longer been related to Burundi’s initiative.

Egypt and Liberia later withdrew their positions, however the withdrawals didn’t trade the result of the method.

The objections centred in large part on procedural considerations. A number of international locations argued that the silence process was once irrelevant for a substantive determination as it presented little room for dialogue and imposed an unreasonably brief cut-off date.

The requirement for objections from one-third of eligible contributors additionally departed from established apply, beneath which a number of objections can also be enough to stop a call from being followed thru silence.

Mr Sall’s candidacy was once additionally rejected by means of Senegal, his house nation, amid proceeding disputes over his political legacy.

Nigeria antagonistic nomination over regional rotation

In April, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Nigeria had objected to the AU’s designation of Mr Sall because the bloc’s consensus candidate for the UN’s best activity, describing the method as procedurally improper and inconsistent with established diplomatic norms.

Nigeria’s objection centred at the long-standing idea of regional rotation within the appointment of the UN secretary-general.

Abuja argued that it was once the flip of Latin The usa and the Caribbean to supply the following secretary-general. It additionally famous that the AU recognises the Caribbean as its 6th area.

Nigeria warned that continuing with Mr Sall’s candidacy may undermine Africa’s long-term status and strategic pursuits inside the multilateral device.

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“The Federal Republic of Nigeria sees no rationale in violating the time-honoured idea of continental rotation within the appointment of the United Countries Secretary-Basic,” a Nigerian diplomatic word said on the time.

“Through jettisoning this established apply, the African Union is hanging its place and pastime in jeopardy now and at some point,” it added.

Nigeria additionally complained that it have been stuck off guard by means of the velocity of the verdict and the restricted time given to member states to evaluate the nomination.

Abuja additional faulted the method for failing to matter Mr Sall’s candidacy to scrutiny by means of the AU’s Ministerial Candidature Committee, which is answerable for vetting high-profile nominations.

Race to prevail Guterres

The location of UN secretary-general will transform vacant on the finish of António Guterres’ present time period in December 2026.

The choice of his successor has attracted global consideration, with regional backing observed as a very powerful diplomatic merit for applicants.

Even if the location has historically adopted a regional rotation association, Mr Guterres, a former Portuguese top minister, was once elected in 2016 when Japanese Europe was once broadly anticipated to have its flip. Latin The usa and the Caribbean are subsequent in line beneath the casual rotation conference, even though the method isn’t a binding rule.