Former Senegalese President Macky Sall will travel to Senegal on Friday, his first public visit to the ​country since leaving office as he campaigns for ‌the post of U.N. secretary-general.

Sall remains a divisive figure in Senegal following his unsuccessful attempt to postpone the 2024 presidential election, a move ​that triggered deadly protests and was ultimately struck ​down by the Constitutional Council.

Senegal's Court of Auditors said ⁠Sall's government understated debt and deficit figures, implying about $7 ​billion in hidden borrowing, a number that later ballooned and was ​estimated by S&P Global Ratings at about $13 billion as of last July, a quarter of the country's $40 billion economy. Sall denies any wrongdoing.

He ​is due to meet President Bassirou Diomaye Faye before leaving ​Dakar immediately afterwards, he said on X. He said the visit was "part ‌of ⁠the consultations and visits I have undertaken in connection with my candidacy".

But he said he anticipated "having the opportunity to return to Dakar on another occasion to meet with activists ​and supporters". He ​now lives ⁠in Morocco.

The U.N. is due to choose its 10th secretary-general this year for a five-year ​term beginning January 1, 2027. Sall is among five ​candidates ⁠so far.

If chosen, Sall would succeed Antonio Guterres to become the third African secretary-general, after Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ghana's Kofi ⁠Annan.

Sall ​oversaw Senegal's transition into an oil- and ​gas-producing nation during his 2012 to 2024 presidency.