An officially diplomatic return
Macky Sall is due to return to Senegal on Friday July 17, 2026. The former president is to be received by his successor, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, as part of his consultations for his candidacy for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations. The visit is presented as institutional and diplomatic. But its political weight goes far beyond the framework of a simple audience.
A political context already in place flammable
This return comes in a sequence of strong recompositions in Senegal. The presidential camp is crossed by by the tensions between Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, whose political alliance has weakened in recent months. The Constitutional Council recently rejected a reform which aimed to modify the balance of powers, in a climate of confrontation between institutions and the majority. parliamentary. In this setting, the presence of Macky Sall at the same time. Dakar takes on a highly strategic dimension.
The APR wants to regain visibility
On the side of the Alliance for the Republic, the return of Macky Sall is also a moment of mobilization. Several leaders of his camp wish to give him a warm welcome, the height of his status as former head of state. This sequence can allow you to the opposition from the old regime to regain space in the public debate. It can also test the capacity of by Macky Sall à; still weigh in the Senegalese political game.
A closely supervised visit
Macky Sall returns to a country whereù its assessment remains debated. The end of his mandate had been marked by the crisis surrounding the postponement of the presidential election to 2024, ultimately invalidated by the by the Constitutional Council. Its former power also faces challenges. criticism of the management of public finances, particularly after revelations on debt and deficits. Macky Sall denies any fault, but his return will be observed à both by his supporters, his adversaries and the new authorities.
One question remains, however: could Bassirou Diomaye Faye have received the former president if he was still allied with the former president? à his former mentor Ousmane Sonko?
