By Tabora Bojang
The Gambia Government has denied knowledge of former president of Senegal Macky Sall’s plans to put forward his candidacy for the post of United Nations secretary general.
The current UN Secretary General António Guterres’s second and final term expires on 31st December 2026. According to international media reports, Sall has began an unofficial campaign to succeed Mr Guterres and it is reported that part of his informal campaign included the presentation of his book Africa at Heart in New York during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. Among those who attended the event were former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, former chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, former president of the European Council Charles Michel, former President of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar.
According to Jeune Afrique, Sall intends to rely on the support of African countries to draw the attention of members of the UN Security Council to his candidacy. Seneweb also reported that Macky sent a letter to Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye informing him of his intention to submit his candidacy and seeking the support of the Senegalese government but President Faye has not deemed it necessary to respond to his letter. Sall was in Ethiopia, for the African Union summit last week but the discussion of an African candidate for the UN SG position was said to be postponed to a future meeting of heads of state via videoconference.
When asked if this development has come to the attention of The Gambia whose government had close relations with Sall during his presidency, Foreign Minister Serigne Modou Njie said it has “not come to the attention” of The Gambia government. “All that we are saying is that we [Gambia Government] don’t know the current status of Macky Sall. We don’t know whether he is bidding for the position of secretary general of the United Nations or not because that is entirely the politics of Senegal and not The Gambia,” Njie said at a government press conference Tuesday.
