MACKY SALL’S UN BID IS DEAD AND BURIED: HOW TODAY’S 5TH STRAW POLL VINDICATED A WARNING

Opinion and Analysis by Musa Bassadi Jawara, Economist & Author

October 7, 2026

No sooner had the first two straw polls been taken at the Security Council several months ago, I wrote an insight, compelling and in diplomatic parlance, that has stood the test of time.

I warned former President Macky Sall of Senegal that his global campaign with fly-by-night private jets was a waste of resources, a waste of time, a waste of political capital.

I postulated that Washington was going to handpick — of course with metaphorical and figurative meaning — the next UN Secretary-General.

Hahaha, a tabula rasa descended on me with venom, with bile, with insults as if I had ordered his candidate of choice to be taken to the guillotine! I hope this so-called Ivy League fellow is watching and observing developments from New York today.

His attacks at the time were personal, calling me a pseudo-intellectual and terrible names. And boy, time has not been kind to him. I am now telling him with absolute and irrefutable finality that Macky Sall’s candidacy is dead and buried!

What evidence is there after 10 votes of disapproval and only 5 in favor? Young man, Balla Jawara is not your match. I have been involved in diplomatic operations for over two decades. Never again insult someone who has learned and lived the experience!

THE EVIDENCE TODAY — THE 5TH VOTE

On October 7, 2026, the Security Council held its 5th indicative vote. The ballots are still white, but the message is red.

Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica): 9 Encourage, 6 Discourage, 0 No Opinion

Rafael Grossi (Argentina): 6 Encourage, 7 Discourage, 2 No Opinion

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana): 5 Encourage, 9 Discourage, 1 No Opinion

Macky Sall (Senegal): 5 Encourage, 10 Discourage, 0 No Opinion

Maria Fernanda Espinosa: 3 Encourage, 9 Discourage, 3 No Opinion

Olara Otunnu (Uganda): 3 Encourage, 12 Discourage, 0 No Opinion

Ivonne A-Baki: 0 Encourage, 14 Discourage, 1 No Opinion

From 6-7-2 on July 30, to 5-9-1 on September 18, to 5-10-0 today. This is not a campaign. It is a flatline.

WHY MACKY SALL CAN NEVER GET THIS JOB — NOT IN A MILLION YEARS

Let us be brutally honest, and I am sorry to say it: With events surrounding the end of his presidency, it is not possible for Sall to secure this job, not in a million years.

The world has not forgotten 2023-2024. Victims in Dakar are still raising opposition. Families are still seeking justice. Civil society is still submitting dossiers to Geneva and New York. The Security Council reads those dossiers. The P5 does not anoint a candidate whose human rights record is still contested in the streets of his own capital.

And this late support from the Faye administration? It is blended in politics. Nothing sincere! It is gimmicks! President Sall himself knows the duplicity of the support coming from Dakar. It is a political handshake for domestic consumption, not a diplomatic endorsement with conviction. Sall knows he is not going to get it. Every Discourage vote reminds him.

TO MY SO-CALLED IVY LEAGUE CRITIC — THE DAGGER IN VELVET

You called me a pseudo-intellectual. I forgive you.

But intellectualism is not a degree framed on a wall. It is foresight. It is reading Articles 97 and 27(3) of the Charter. It is understanding that a $3.4 billion budget with a $270 million cut still cannot function without Washington.

You attacked the man, not the math. Today, New York has answered with math: 5 Encourage, 10 Discourage.

I warned clearly in the essay: this contest is not decided by frequent flyer miles. It is won by credibility, by record, and by the concurrence of the P5.

BALLA JAWARA’S CONCLUSION — LEARNED IN THE DIPLOMATIC CORRIDORS OF REASON AND SAGACITY

History will record that Macky Sall did not lose the UN race in New York on October 7, 2026. He lost it in Dakar in 2023-2024, when governance departed from the people. You cannot suppress youth at home and seek to lead the world. You cannot borrow a jet from Embalo and ask Washington to trust your moral compass. The Security Council straw poll only confirmed what the streets already knew.

President Sall should now do the honorable thing: exit the race with dignity and return to reflection. For Africa, the lesson is permanent and must be learned: Leadership is not travel. Leadership is foresight, it is human rights, it is respect for constitutions. When you govern with honesty, the world will come to you. You will not need a private jet to chase it.

Musa Bassadi Jawara

Economist & Author

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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