United Nations | Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Antonio Guterres as the next United Nations Secretary-General after securing the highest support in the first informal "straw poll" conducted by the Security Council, sources said.
The 15-nation UN Security Council on Thursday held its first closed door "straw-poll", in which members cast a non-binding vote to indicate their support for the candidates in fray for the position of the world's top diplomat.
According to sources, Grynspan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), received 10 "encourage" votes, one "discourage" vote and four "no opinion" votes.
Guyana's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, was a close second with nine "encourage", two "discourage" and four "no opinion" votes.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi ranked third with seven "encourage", two "discourage" and six "no opinion" votes.
The other candidates in the race are former Chilean President and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, former President of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, former UN Under Secretary General Virginia Gamba, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ugandan politician Olara Otunnu.
Guterres, the former Portuguese prime minister, will complete his second five-year term as the ninth UN chief in December 2026.
Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the straw poll, the Security Council president for July, Congo's Permanent Representative Ambassador Zenon Mukongo Ngay, said candidates would be informed of the results through the permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them.
He said the Council had not decided when the next straw poll would be held, adding that the decision would be taken under Denmark's presidency of the Security Council in August.
Responding to a question on why the results were not being officially released, Ngay said, "The thinking behind it is to keep everything close, and we want transparency at the same time, efficiency, but we don't want speculations on that."
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters that the Security Council would reach its conclusions "in the coming months" and stressed the need for a Secretary-General who would reform the organisation, make it "leaner and more fit for purpose", and "more relevant on the international stage".
He also called for the consolidation of UN agencies and the greater allocation of resources to field operations rather than headquarters.
The 193-member UN General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council, the powerful but divided body where the five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the UK and the US -- hold veto power.
The UN has never seen a female leader at its helm in 80 years of its existence.
Noting this "with regret", a UN General Assembly resolution adopted in September last year encouraged member states to "strongly consider nominating women as candidates" for the top post.
While the selection of the Secretary General does not follow any regional rotation, it is being pointed out that the next UN chief should come from Latin America.
As the election process for the UN chief got underway, both the US and China have publicly backed the election of a woman as the next UN chief.
