The return of Macky Sall to Dakar on Friday, July 17, marks an unprecedented political sequence since the transfer of power in April 2024. The former Senegalese president announced on his social media platforms on Tuesday, July 14, that he would join the capital to meet with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The trip is presented as brief but its content goes far beyond a courtesy visit protocol.
A Candidature onusienne with Dakar’s Imprimatur
The position of Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) obeys precise diplomatic rules. A candidate cannot advance without the blessing of their home country, a condition first and foremost before even negotiations at the Security Council. For Macky Sall, obtaining a signal from Diomaye Faye constitutes the initial step in a trajectory that, if successful, will stretch over several months of negotiations in New York.
The calendar also plays a role. The term of current Secretary-General António Guterres is set to end by year-end 2026. A rotation principle informally governing the appointments could this time favor an African candidate, the continent not having occupied the post since Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan. Senegal thus has a historical window, provided its current authorities accept presenting the candidacy of a predecessor politically opposed.
A Charged Meeting with Underlying Politics
The relationship between Macky Sall and Bassirou Diomaye Faye remains marked by the transition context. The current head of state, who came to power after a campaign partly conducted from prison, embodies an assumed rupture with his predecessor’s legacy. Several audits of management and judicial procedures targeting former regime officials have since fueled a durable tension between the two camps.
In this context, the meeting on July 17 goes beyond the sole question of UN support. It will also pose, in the background, the question of the former president’s status within Senegalese politics, the guarantees that might surround his entourage, and the diplomatic positioning of the country at a few months before crucial multilateral decisions.
A Test for Senegal’s Diplomacy
For Bassirou Diomaye Faye, this initiative imposes a delicate balancing act. Supporting Sall’s candidacy would be to confer significant diplomatic weight on his predecessor, while offering the country a major card on the international stage. On the other hand, refusing or delaying could irreparably damage the candidate’s chances and expose Dakar to criticism from its African partners as well as segments of Senegalese public opinion attached to the country’s international reputation.
Senegal also plays a role in its credibility within the African Union, whose collective support for a single candidate remains decisive in weighing up decisions at the Security Council. No official statement has emerged from the Senegalese presidency on this matter, with the executive preferring measured communication before the meeting.
Ultimately, this July 17 rendezvous will be, whatever its final content, the first public interaction between the two men since the transition in April 2024. It may open a sequence of normalizing politics that the country needs at the moment when economic and institutional reforms pushed by the Faye-Sonko tandem demand an eased climate.
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