Why Africa remains divided over Macky Sall's UN bid

Burundi last month nominated former Senegalese President Macky Sall to succeed United Nations Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres, whose second and final term ends on December 31, 2026. In ​his vision statement for the role, Sall said the UN needed to be reformed, streamlined and modernized. But Senegal said in a diplomatic note to the African Union (AU) that it "has not, at any stage, endorsed" the application, and that it is neither "associated with the relative initiative undertaken by the Government of Burundi." And Sall's ambitions for the UN top job do not have the full backing of the AU, which he chaired between 2022 and 2023. Around 20 AU member states have rejected Sall's bid. Key countries include South Africa, Algeria, Rwanda, Liberia and Senegal. How the bid unraveled On March 2, Burundi, which currently holds the rotating AU chairmanship role, submitted Sall's nomination in a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly. According to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), a South Africa-based think tank, "the submission blurred the line between a national initiative and a continental endorsement." The ISS said the timing of the letter, which had been signed by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, "just two weeks after the AU summit, may have created the impression of formal AU backing, prompting some confusion..." The ISS noted that AU procedures require candidacies to undergo formal review by designated committees before the executive council can endorse them, either by consensus or a two‑thirds vote. Following questions and objections from member states, Burundi on March 26 reintroduced the nomination under the AU's so-called silence procedure, which limited member states to 24 hours to object or approve. The silence procedure is widely used across multilateral institutions, allowing decisions to be adopted if no formal objections are raised within a specified timeframe. By close of business on March 27, some 20 AU member states had broken the silence on the draft decision, blocking its adoption.Opposing countries say procedures were breached Rwanda, which openly criticized the process and confirmed its opposition through senior officials, described Ndayishimiye's push as a "gross breach of procedure." "This was too much for many AU member states, which could not accept such a diktat and such disrespect from their chairperson. They then decided to break the silence, block his decision and remind President Ndayishimiye that the African Union is governed by the rule of law," Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe wrote on X. Nigeria's Permanent Mission to the AU also broke the silence, arguing that established procedures and principles were not followed in taking the decision.Africa's turning point: What awaits AU chair NdayishimiyeTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Djiby Sow, a senior researcher at the ISS regional office for West Africa and the Sahel, said that "the AU has an established procedure in this area that allows for in-depth evaluation of candidacies." "And in this instance, the silence procedure did not allow for discussion on a matter of very big importance such as the candidacy for the position of Secretary-General," Sow told DW. In a letter to the AU Commission, Nigeria said Africa should refrain from contesting the secretary‑general post, arguing it is the turn of Latin America and the Caribbean under the "time‑honored principle of continental rotation in the appointment of the United Nations Secretary‑General." What happens next? Even without the AU’s endorsement, Sall remains a candidate for UN chief, and member states are free to vote for him on an individual basis. Sall joins three other candidates in the race to replace Guterres from January 1, 2027: Rebeca Grynspan, former vice president of Costa Rica; Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet. They are scheduled to be interviewed by member states in the second half of April. Are the African Union and ECOWAS losing relevance?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Keith Walker