The Security Council's first straw poll is expected at the end of July, and with it the race for UN Secretary-General enters its final stretch. Through this secret ballot, the Council's fifteen members indicate, for each candidate, whether they "encourage", "discourage" or take no position.
These mechanics give weight to every contact. To be recommended to the General Assembly, a candidate must gather at least nine votes without a veto from any of the five permanent members (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia). This first round opens the process: in the comparable precedents of 2006 and 2016, the formal recommendation came only in the autumn.
Until then, President Macky Sall's campaign is concentrating on bilateral consultations, after a tour that recently took him to Bogotá, to meet the Colombian president, and then to Moscow. Every exchange with a Council member counts, and the vision he defends remains constant: an inclusive, impartial and action-oriented United Nations, attentive to every member state.
In these consultations, the candidate draws on twelve years as Head of State and on the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022. He spoke for the continent in the health crisis as in the food and energy crises. The only African candidate in the race, he has carried Senegal's official candidacy since 20 July, with its diplomatic network mobilised in the capitals.
Six candidacies have been submitted to date. The race remains open with no clear front-runner; the true hierarchy will take shape at the Council, and every capital will follow this week's votes.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
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