Race for UN top job: Otunnu to spend two weeks courting Security Council members
“He’s now going to visit [UN] member states, especially those that are on the Security Council, both permanent and non-permanent to reinforce his candidature for the next two weeks,” said Bagiire.
Uganda’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) secretary general, Dr Olara Otunnu. (File photo)
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Uganda’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) secretary general, Dr Olara Otunnu, will spend the next two weeks courting members of the organisation’s Security Council, who will decide the election.
Under the selection procedure for the secretary general, the council’s 15 members, including the five permanent members with the right of veto, recommend a single candidate for approval by the 193-member General Assembly.
“He’s now going to visit [UN] member states, especially those that are on the Security Council, both permanent and non-permanent to reinforce his candidature for the next two weeks,” Vincent Bagiire, the permanent secretary of the foreign affairs ministry, told New Vision Online on Monday (August 24).
The five permanent members are the United States, Russia, China, France and the UK, while the 10 non-permanent members, serving staggered two-year terms, are Bahrain, Colombia, DR Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia.
“We’ll start with the [US] State Department [in Washington], since he’s in the US. Then we'll move to the UK, to Denmark, and all those other countries that are on the Security Council. His standing has improved after appearing before the General Assembly and the Security Council. So, we expect that if he goes to their capitals, the next straw poll might be more favourable,” Bagiire added.
He drew five ‘encourage’ votes, five ‘discourage’ votes and five ‘no opinion’ votes. He was nominated by the Ugandan Government on July 24, 2026, only days before the first round of the straw poll on July 30.
The 75-year-old seasoned diplomat was included on the first straw ballot without having first held an informal interactive dialogue with UN member states and civil society representatives, unlike the other candidates.
In that first poll, Otunnu received only two ‘encourage’ votes, five ‘discourage’ votes and eight ‘no opinion’ votes, which was the weakest showing among the then seven candidates.
Candidates running to become the world’s most prominent diplomat now number eight, including Ecuadorean diplomat Ivonne Baki, who announced her nomination by Tonga, an island country in Polynesia, this month.
The others are Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Senegal’s Macky Sall and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi.
In the second poll, Birkett emerged as the frontrunner, but no candidate drew the required nine ‘encourage’ votes to fully command a lead.
Birkett was closely followed by Grynspan and Grossi, who each collected seven ‘encourage’ votes. Grossi received six ‘discourage’ votes, compared with Grynspan’s four.
In the straw vote, council members pass judgment on the candidates for secretary-general in secret.
The current secretary-general, António Guterres, will end his second term of office on December 31, 2026.
His 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.
President Yoweri Museveni has already instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its teams around the world to make Uganda’s bid for Otunnu’s election their top priority.