Former Senegalese President Macky Sall has pulled out of the race to become the next United Nations Secretary-General, days after an informal vote inside the Security Council failed to produce a frontrunner, according to a report by Guardian Nigeria. In a statement issued from Marrakech, Sall said the Council's consultations pointed toward support for a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean, and that he was stepping aside in the interest of building consensus around the post rather than prolonging a contest he judged he was unlikely to win.
Sall said the decision followed conversations with African Union chair and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye and with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who currently chairs the Economic Community of West African States. Both leaders were informed before the withdrawal was made public.
The move ends, for now, one of the continent's most visible bids for the UN's top job, and leaves African governments weighing whether to rally behind a different candidate or cede the field as the Security Council's informal soundings continue to favor a nominee from outside the region.