Selection process for next UN chief underway
Diplomats are reluctant to predict the outcome of the race because of the sway of the five permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom — which have not yet indicated their preferences.
Amb. Dr.Olara Otunnu addressing the media at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala on Wednesday July 29th 2026. (Credit: Mpalanyi Ssentongo)
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council began the process of selecting the UN's next secretary-general Thursday, holding a first "straw poll" to gauge the seven candidates' support for the high-profile global statesman role.
Following the first round of voting, ambassadors of the 15 Security Council members were tight-lipped about the outcome of the secret poll.
Four women and three men are so far in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
They are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, Olara Otunnu of Uganda, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana, and Macky Sall of Senegal.
Although Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has arguably the best name recognition, observers believe that for now there is no clear favourite in the race that could last several months.
"I'm not going to give you the numbers," said the UN Security Council president, Kinshasa's envoy to the UN, Zenon Ngay Mukongo, who confirmed a second round of the straw poll would be announced in the coming days.
The candidates' nominating countries would be informed of the results of the initial straw poll, he added, with no public announcement planned.
Diplomats are reluctant to predict the outcome of the race because of the sway of the five permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom — which have not yet indicated their preferences.
Once a candidate clears those bars, their name will go to the General Assembly of all UN members for confirmation.
On Thursday, the Council's 15 members met behind closed doors to test the waters with the first "straw poll," devised in the early 1980s in an attempt to break a deadlock between two candidates whose bids were shut down by vetoes.
The informal mechanism has persisted, in various forms, in spite of criticism from countries opposed to the opaque process.
L/R starting clockwise in upper L, Chile's former president Michelle Bachelet, Costa Rican economist Rebeca Grynspan, former Senegalese President Macky Sall, former Ecuadorian foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi, and former Guyana Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. The six are candidates for the position of United Nations Secretary-General. (AFP Photo)
Time for a woman?
That would give those with no support the opportunity to withdraw — though they are not obliged.
In the first round of a process expected to take several weeks, all ballots are the same colour.
But after an unspecified number of votes, the ballots of the five permanent members will become a different colour from those of the elected members, making it possible to identify potential vetoes, without knowing which country blackballed any given candidate.
"The straw polls may show that some candidates are just not viable, and allow them to bow out in a dignified manner," Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
"I would be surprised if any one candidate emerges with a decisive numerical advantage."
It is tradition that the UN's top job should rotate between different regions.
Under that premise, the role should go to a candidate from Latin America this time, and there are many candidates from the region.
Panama's Ambassador to the UN, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, said it was a priority that the winner be a woman from Latin America.
Many states are also pushing for a woman to lead the UN for the first time.