The Security Council, the most powerful body of the United Nations, met on August 21 to conduct a poll to measure the level of support for the growing list of candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General.
Ms. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica led after the first unofficial vote last month, in which 15 members of the Security Council, including 5 countries with veto power, gave secret evaluations of candidates.
Mr. Rafael Grossi of Argentina, head of the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency, is also a candidate, along with Ms. Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana, Mr. Olara Otunnu of Uganda and Mr. Macky Sall of Senegal.
After the first round ended, Ivonne A-Baki of Ecuador announced her participation in the race to succeed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second 5-year term on December 31, 2026.
If the first ballot creates the context for the race for the Secretary-General's seat, then the second vote may show us part of its direction," said Daniel Forti of the International Crisis Group.
Diplomats predict there will be fluctuations in the vote distribution compared to the July vote. Most will watch whether the leading candidates initially consolidate their support or drop in rank. It is unlikely that any candidate will step out of this vote with a decisive advantage," he said.
According to Mr. Forti, the veto power countries including the UK, China, France, Russia and the US may wait until a later stage to express their priorities, while new candidates may still appear.
Even if a candidate wins all 9 necessary votes out of a total of 15 votes at the Security Council, he still has to avoid a veto from the 5 powers that are deeply divided. Overcoming these barriers, the candidate's name will be forwarded to the General Assembly of all members of the United Nations for ratification.
The exploratory voting mechanism at the Security Council was designed from the early 1980s, aimed at breaking the deadlock between two candidates who were then blocked by veto power. This informal mechanism still exists in many different forms, despite criticism from countries opposing the non-transparent process.
It is likely that some candidates will realize after this vote that their campaign has reached the end of the road," Forti added.
According to convention, the highest leadership position of the United Nations rotates between regions. With that principle, the seat this time belongs to a candidate from Latin America - a region with many candidates, while Mr. Sall and Mr. Otunnu are from Africa.
