Ivonne A-Baki enters UN secretary-general race

Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki has entered the race to become the next UN secretary-general, the head of the General Assembly said in a letter Tuesday.

A-Baki was nominated by Tonga. She joins a field of five women and three men seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres of Portugal, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, 2026.

A-Baki represented Ecuador in the United States and previously served as foreign trade minister. Tonga cited her roles as a cabinet minister and as Ecuador’s ambassador to Washington and Qatar.

Tonga said she had led international initiatives on sustainable development and dialogue among cultures, linking Latin America, the Arab world, Africa and Europe.

A-Baki was also the public face of a failed plan to prevent oil exploitation in an Amazon reserve in exchange for a large international contribution. The plan was shelved in 2013 by President Rafael Correa, who authorised crude extraction in Yasuni National Park after acknowledging the initiative’s economic failure.

The UN Security Council held its first “straw poll” last month to gauge support for the then-seven candidates. United Nations insider Rebeca Grynspan was leading after the first round.

The other nominees are former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Olara Otunnu of Uganda and Macky Sall of Senegal.

Diplomats have been reluctant to predict the outcome because the Security Council’s five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom — have not indicated their preferences.

A candidate needs at least nine votes from the 15-member council and must avoid a veto by any permanent member. The chosen name then goes to the General Assembly for confirmation.