UN Security Council holds third informal straw poll for Secretary-General candidates
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held its third informal straw poll on Friday (18/9) regarding the candidates for the next UN Secretary-General.
French Ambassador to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, stated that candidates would be informed of the poll results through the permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them. Bonnafont made this statement to the media following the conclusion of the closed-door vote. France holds the rotating presidency of the UNSC for September.
The UNSC’s informal straw poll for Secretary-General candidates is a closed, informal voting process used to determine the viability of candidates, and the results are not officially announced. Through these informal polls, the Security Council selects a candidate to be recommended to the UN General Assembly for appointment as the next UN Secretary-General.
However, the results of Friday’s informal poll were leaked to the public. Rebeca Grynspan, former Vice President of Costa Rica and current Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), received the highest support with nine votes in Friday’s vote, according to ‘1 for 8 Billion’, a global campaign advocating for a fair, open, and inclusive appointment process for the first female UN Secretary-General.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN, followed with eight supporting votes. According to ‘1 for 8 Billion’, Grynspan received five opposing votes, while Rodrigues-Birkett received six.
UNSC members are believed to receive one ballot per candidate, containing the candidate’s name followed by three options: ‘support’, ‘do not support’, and ‘abstain’, according to ‘What’s in Blue’, a publication tracking UNSC developments.
In the first informal poll on 30 July, Grynspan received 10 supporting votes, followed by Rodrigues-Bidding with nine. However, in the second round on 21 August, their positions reversed, with Rodrigues-Birkett leading with eight supporting votes, followed by Grynspan with seven.
In this third informal straw poll, the number of opposing votes for both candidates increased.
The six other candidates include Ivonne A-Baki, former Ecuadorian minister and diplomat; Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former President of the UN General Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence of Ecuador; Rafael Grossi from Argentina, currently Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Olara Otunnu from Uganda, former UN Deputy Secretary-General; and Macky Sall, former President of Senegal.
The term of the incumbent UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will end at the end of this year. The next Secretary-General is scheduled to take office on 1 January 2027.