Third Security Council Straw Poll Shows Continued Movement in the Race for the Next UN Secretary-General

The United Nations Security Council held its third informal straw poll on 18 September as part of the process to identify a candidate to succeed António Guterres as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The confidential, non-binding poll is used by Council members to assess the level of support for the candidates. As in previous rounds, members indicated whether they “encouraged,” “discouraged,” or had “no opinion” on each candidacy. The detailed results are not formally published by the Security Council and have been reported by diplomats and sources familiar with the process.

According to these reports, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica received 9 “encourage” votes, 5 “discourage” votes and 1 “no opinion,” while Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana received 8 “encourage,” 6 “discourage” and 1 “no opinion.” Olara Otunnu of Uganda received 5 “encourage,” 7 “discourage” and 3 “no opinion”; Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina received 5 “encourage,” 8 “discourage” and 2 “no opinion”; and Macky Sall of Senegal received 5 “encourage,” 9 “discourage” and 1 “no opinion.” María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador received 3 “encourage” 6 “discourage” and 6 “no opinion”; Michelle Bachelet of Chile received 1 “encourage” 11 “discourage” and 3 “no opinion” and Ivonne A-Baki of Ecuador received 0 “encourage”, 10 “discourage” and 5 “no opinion”.

Changes since the second straw poll

The third round follows the second straw poll held on 21 August. In that round, Rodrigues-Birkett received 8 “encourage” votes, Grynspan 7, Grossi 7, Sall 6, Otunnu 5, Espinosa 4, Bachelet 2 and A-Baki 0.

The latest poll records changes in the level of support reported for several candidates. Grynspan increased her “encourage” votes from 7 to 9, while Rodrigues-Birkett remained at 8. Otunnu maintained 5 “encourage” votes, while Grossi and Sall each received 5. The reported results therefore show continued movement among the candidates as Council members assess the field through successive rounds of informal voting.

GWL Voices will continue to follow the Secretary-General selection process, providing factual information on developments, the candidates and the institutional process as further consultations and straw polls take place