Otunnu intensifies campaign to lead UN
Otunnu is seeking to replace António Guterres as Secretary-General, alongside Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi and Tonga’s Ivonne A-Baki.
On September 24, 2026, President Museveni told world leaders gathered in New York that Otunnu is exceptionally qualified to lead the UN.
NEW YORK - Uganda’s candidate for United Nations (UN) secretary-general, Dr Olara Otunnu, has intensified his campaign to lead the global organisation, holding meetings with key figures on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
On September 26, 2026, Otunnu met Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
Otunnu took to his campaign account on X, formerly Twitter, and said he was “delighted” to have met Zheng, whose country is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The other four permanent members are the United States, Russia, France and the UK.
Each of the five permanent members has the right of veto, meaning a substantive resolution cannot be adopted if one of them votes against it. An abstention by a permanent member does not prevent a resolution from being adopted if it otherwise secures the required support.
Under the selection procedure, the 15-member Security Council considers the candidates and recommends one candidate to the General Assembly for appointment as Secretary-General.
Otunnu is seeking to replace António Guterres as Secretary-General, alongside Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi and Tonga’s Ivonne A-Baki.
“Together, we also exchanged greetings with Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov,” Otunnu, who was with his head of the campaign, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, the special envoy for special duties in the Office of President Yoweri Museveni, said on X.
Museveni campaigns for Otunnu
On September 24, 2026, President Museveni told world leaders gathered in New York that Otunnu is exceptionally qualified to lead the UN.
He said this in a statement delivered by Vice President Jessica Alupo at the ongoing UN General Assembly, which opened on September 8 under the theme: Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.
Museveni, who told the session that he was unable to attend in person and had delegated Alupo to represent him, said Otunnu brings more than four decades of distinguished service across the UN system, international diplomacy and public administration.
“His extensive experience, statesmanship and proven capacity for consensus-building make him exceptionally qualified to lead the Secretariat at this critical time,” the President, who has led Uganda uninterrupted since 1986, said.
This comes as the selection process for the next UN secretary-general continues.
Otunnu, 76, is also attending this year’s UN General Assembly and has used the occasion to meet representatives of major powers, including the UK and France, as well as other delegates attending the session.
He served as Uganda’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN from 1980 to 1985 and as the global organisation’s Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 1998 to 2005.
Otunnu also served as President of the UN Security Council in 1981.
This year’s session is the last for Guterres, who will end his second term of office on December 31.
Guterres’s successor will be chosen this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027, which can be renewed by member states for an additional five years.
Although there is technically no limit to the number of five-year terms a Secretary-General may serve, none so far has held office for more than two terms.