By The European Times | Created at 2026-08-02 08:26:54 | Updated at 2026-08-02 14:19:01
5 hours ago
Four women and three men are currently in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year term as UN secretary-general ends on December 31, 2026, AFP reported.
He or she will take office on January 1, 2027.
The candidates are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebecca Greenspan of Costa Rica, Olara Otunu of Uganda, Caroline Rodriguez-Birket of Guyana and Macky Sall of Senegal.
While Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is likely to have the most recognition among the candidates, observers say there is no clear favorite in the race, which could last several months.
Diplomats are wary of predicting the outcome of the race because of the influence of the five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain – who have yet to declare their preferences.
If a candidate receives the required nine votes out of 15 on the Security Council, he must avoid a veto by the five major powers.
Once a candidate clears those hurdles, his name will be sent to the UN General Assembly, made up of all member states, for final confirmation.
On Thursday, the 15 members of the Security Council met behind closed doors to test sentiment through the first “preliminary vote” – a mechanism created in the early 1980s to help break a deadlock between two veto-blocked candidates.
This informal mechanism has persisted in various forms, despite criticism from countries that object to the opaque process.
Each member of the organization must anonymously rate each candidate with one of three options: “I support”, “I oppose” or “I have no opinion”.
This gives candidates without sufficient support the opportunity to withdraw – although they are not obliged to do so.
In the first round of the process, which is expected to last several weeks, all ballots are the same color.
After an unspecified number of votes, the ballots of the five permanent members will be a different color from those of the elected members, which will allow it to be determined which candidates are potentially blocked by vetoes, without knowing which specific country has vetoed a candidate.
“Preliminary votes can show that some candidates simply have no real chance, and allow them to withdraw in a dignified manner,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP. I would be surprised if any candidate came out with a decisive numerical advantage.”
Traditionally, the top job at the UN is supposed to rotate between different regions.
According to that principle, this time the position should go to a Latin American candidate, with several contenders from the region.
Panama’s UN ambassador, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, said the priority was for the winner to be a woman from Latin America.
Many countries have been pushing for a woman to lead the UN – the first time in the organisation’s history.
Prior to this first vote, six of the candidates took part in open public hearings organised by the General Assembly, as well as private hearings before the Security Council – with the exception of Olara Otunnu, who only recently announced his candidacy.
Illustrative photo: pexels-njeromin-15405989
