World
NUEVA YORK Macky Sall withdraws from the race to become UN secretary-general
The former Senegalese president stepped aside after a new Security Council straw poll. Jeune Afrique reported that his bid had been weakened by the threat of vetoes from permanent members.
Macky Sall announced on October 17 that he was withdrawing from the process to choose the next UN secretary-general, according to Jeune Afrique. The move came hours after a sixth straw poll before the Security Council.
According to the magazine, in the informal October 16, 2026 vote the former Senegalese president received 5 votes in favor out of 15 and faced three potential vetoes from permanent members of the Council.
In a message released from Marrakech, where he lives, Sall said he had made the decision in the hope of helping a consensus candidate emerge within the Security Council. He also said that, from the start of the process, the various test votes had pointed toward a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean, and possibly a woman, Jeune Afrique reported.
The former president also thanked Burundi’s president, Évariste Ndayishimiye, for sponsoring his candidacy, and Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, for supporting it, the outlet added.
Jeune Afrique said that, after Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Sall became the second candidate to pull out of the contest to succeed António Guterres in January 2027 at the head of the United Nations.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
