On 3 July 2023, in a solemn address to the nation, President Macky Sall announced his decision not to seek a third term as Head of State of Senegal. The constitutional debate was still open at the time. Nothing legally compelled him to step aside. He nonetheless chose to place the stability of his country and the vitality of its democracy above any personal consideration. That evening, a promise was made before the Senegalese people. It would be kept.
The next day, 4 July 2023, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, published a message that has not been forgotten: "I would like to express my deep appreciation for President Macky Sall and the statesmanship he has shown. His decision represents a very important example for his country and the world." The tribute came from the very top of the Organization. It honoured not a speech, but an act.
Three years later, to the day, that message resonates in a particular way. President Macky Sall is now a candidate to succeed the very man who praised his statesmanship. Trust is not proclaimed; it is demonstrated. Keeping the word given in 2023 has become a diplomatic asset of his candidacy. Few contenders for the leadership of the United Nations can quote, word for word, such a testimony from the outgoing Secretary-General.
The facts then confirmed the commitment. On 2 April 2024, President Macky Sall peacefully handed over power to the elected president, confirming Senegal's second democratic transfer of power, the very tradition he himself had embodied in 2012 by winning the highest office at the ballot box. This exemplary transition, documented on our fact-checking page, attests to a rare consistency in public life: saying, then doing.
As the Security Council's first straw polls are expected in the last week of July 2026, this anniversary recalls what Member States look for in a Secretary-General: a leader whose word is binding and whose decisions stand the test of time. The 2023 tribute was no diplomatic courtesy. Without knowing it, it foreshadowed what came next. The career of President Macky Sall offers a continuous demonstration of it, from Senegal to the great multilateral arenas.