Senegal's Former President Macky Sall Returns to Dakar to Campaign for UN Secretary-General Post

Senegal's former president Macky Sall returned to Dakar on Friday for the first time since leaving office in April 2024. The visit is part of his campaign to become the next UN secretary-general, AllAfrica reported. Sall is scheduled to meet President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday afternoon before departing immediately afterward.

He currently lives in Morocco and led Senegal from 2012 to 2024. His unsuccessful attempt to postpone the 2024 presidential election triggered deadly protests and was struck down by the Constitutional Council. Senegal's Court of Auditors stated that his government misreported key economic data, including debt and deficit figures, which prompted the IMF to suspend its loans.

A general amnesty passed in the final weeks of Sall's government ruled out prosecutions for offences by both security forces and protesters during violent demonstrations between 2021 and 2024. Lawmakers partially lifted the amnesty for the most serious crimes last year. Seydi Gassama stated that more than 67 people were killed during protests under Sall's rule.

Associations representing families of those killed have expressed anger at the meeting with Faye and called on the president to deliver justice. Sall is one of five candidates for the UN post, alongside Rebeca Grynspan, Michelle Bachelet, Rafael Grossi, and Maria Fernanda Espinosa. The UN is due to choose its 10th secretary-general this year for a five-year term beginning 1 January 2027.

Sall was nominated by Burundi, the current chair of the African Union, but around 20 AU member states, including Senegal, declined to back his candidacy in March.