Michelle Bachelet quits UN chief race

Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, withdrew from the race to become the next United Nations secretary-general after a straw poll showed her near the bottom of the field.

Bachelet said in a video posted on social media Saturday that she had decided not to continue her candidacy. She said she did not regret taking on the challenge and said her run had helped spark debate about whether the next UN chief should be a woman from Latin America.

Chile's government said it had withdrawn support for Bachelet's candidacy in March and had not backed any other candidate since. The government also reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and UN reform.

Bachelet, 74, was Chile's first female president. She was nominated last February by the administration of then-president Gabriel Boric and supported by the leftist leaders of Mexico and Brazil. Her campaign lost momentum after Chile's new leader, far-right President Jose Antonio Kast, withdrew support.

Three informal Security Council straw polls have been held so far. Costa Rica's former vice president Rebeca Grynspan led two of them, while Guyana's former foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett placed first in the third.

Bachelet's withdrawal leaves four women and three men in the race to succeed Antonio Guterres of Portugal, who completes his second five-year term on December 31.

A successful candidate needs at least nine votes from the 15-member Security Council and must avoid a veto from Britain, China, France, Russia or the United States. The General Assembly then confirms the council's choice.

No woman has led the United Nations in its 80-year history. Only one Latin American, Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, has served as secretary-general, from 1982 to 1991.