NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 17 — Former Senegalese President Macky Sall has withdrawn his candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General following the latest informal Security Council straw poll, saying he hopes his decision will help pave the way for a consensus candidate.
Sall announced his withdrawal on Saturday, a day after the sixth straw poll, held on October 16.
In that poll, all seven candidates received at least one “discourage” vote from a permanent member of the 15-member Security Council.
“I have taken this decision with a deep sense of responsibility, in the hope that it will contribute to the emergence of a consensus candidate within the Security Council,” Sall said in a statement.
He said the decision followed consultations with Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the African Union’s current chairperson, and Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, who chairs the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Sall’s withdrawal comes amid indications that Security Council members may favour a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean, potentially a woman, in the contest to succeed outgoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“Since the beginning of the process, the results of the various straw polls have indicated a preference for a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean region, possibly a woman,” Sall said.
The former Senegalese leader said his bid had been driven by a desire to bring nearly four decades of public service experience to the United Nations.
He thanked Ndayishimiye for sponsoring his candidacy and Faye for supporting it, as well as Security Council members who voted in his favour and his campaign team.
Despite withdrawing, Sall said he remained committed to the principles that had informed his bid.
“I am withdrawing my candidacy, but remain fully committed to the ideals that inspired it: peace, security, economic and social development, international cooperation, and dialogue among nations,” he said.
He also called for reforms within the United Nations, arguing that the organisation needed to adapt to a world increasingly affected by conflict, geopolitical rivalries and economic and financial challenges.
“I remain convinced that the United Nations must undertake a profound transformation of its working methods and operations,” Sall said.
He added that Africa should continue pushing for a greater role in global governance, given its central place in debates on peace, security and development.
Security Council divisions
The latest straw poll exposed the diplomatic hurdles facing the candidates seeking to lead the United Nations.
All seven received at least one “discourage” vote from one of the five permanent Security Council members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The October 16 ballot was the first round in which the five permanent members used coloured ballots to distinguish their votes from those cast by the Council’s 10 elected members.
Costa Rican candidate Rebeca Grynspan received the highest number of “encourage” votes, but also received five “discourage” votes, including two from permanent members, according to information reported after the confidential ballot.
The results are politically significant because, when the Council makes its formal recommendation, a candidate must receive at least nine affirmative votes and must not be opposed by any of the five permanent members.
A permanent member’s negative vote at that stage would block the recommendation.
The straw poll is informal and non-binding, however, and a “discourage” vote in the poll is not a formal veto.
Council members may change their positions before the Council adopts a recommendation, and the General Assembly then formally appoints the Secretary-General on the Council’s recommendation.
Sall was among seven candidates in the race, alongside Grynspan, Guyana’s former foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Ecuadorian candidates Ivonne A-Baki and María Fernanda Espinosa, and Uganda’s Olara Otunnu.
Otunnu received four “encourage” votes, 10 “discourage” votes and one “no opinion” vote in the latest poll, according to results circulating after the ballot.
The UN’s next Secretary-General will take office after Guterres completes his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council recommends a candidate to the General Assembly, which makes the formal appointment.
The process gives the five permanent Council members decisive influence because any one of them can block a recommendation with a negative vote at the formal stage.