I'm the best candidate for UN top job — Otunnu
Otunnu said he has a long track record of building consensus and proposing innovative solutions in situations of crisis and deadlock.
Former presidential candidate Dr Olara Otunnu speaking during a press conference at the ministry of foreign affairs in Kampala on Wednesday, July 29. (Photo by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)
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Former presidential candidate Dr Olara Otunnu has said he is the best candidate for the position of the United Nations (UN) secretary-general.
The current secretary-general of this global organisation, António Guterres, is due to end his term of office at the end of the year. Otunnu is among seven candidates seeking to replace Guterres.
All the contenders have been out on the hustings, save for Otunnu, whose candidature was announced by the Ugandan government on July 24, 2026.
"Obviously, the secretary general should be somebody, who has deep and very broad experience of the United Nations. By the grace of God, I think there are very few people who have had a good fortune to work as broadly and as deeply at the United Nations as myself in all sectors of the United Nations," Otunnu said.
The 75-year-old former Ugandan diplomat made the remarks during a press conference at the ministry of foreign affairs in Kampala on Wednesday, July 29.
Otunnu said he has a long track record of building consensus and proposing innovative solutions in situations of crisis and deadlock.
"There are several examples in the records of the United Nations, including the 'Otunnu Formula', which I invented in 1981 and which has been used since that time to select the secretary general and the mechanism now in the United Nations for protecting women and children exposed to war," he said.
Otiunnu further argued that; "all of these are developments that require a lot of forging of consensus and of proposing innovative ideas that bring people together and solve a situation of crisis and deadlock."
Why nominating Otunnu
"Uganda has been a leader in some of the critical organs of the United Nations. Honourable Sam Kutesa (former ministry of foreign affairs) was the president of the United Nations General Assembly in 2014-2015 (during its 69th session). So, we have been there and done it in the past," he said.
Bagiire added; "Our candidate was the president of UN Security Council at a tender age of I think 31, and is a very important organ. So, being president of that organ in the past is an extremely critical aspect of why we feel Uganda should take a shot at this position (of secretary general)."
Beyond that, Bagiire said Uganda has been very supportive in peace and security, which is one of the strands of the UN.
Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly appoints the secretary-general on the recommendation of the Security Council.
Otunnu presided over the UN Security Council in the 1980s.
Uganda submitted Otunnu's candidature to both the presidents of the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council on July 24, 2026.