UN secretary-general race starts with first straw poll

The UN Security Council began the process of choosing the next UN secretary-general on Thursday with a first secret straw poll of seven candidates.

Ambassadors from the 15 Security Council members did not disclose the outcome after the closed-door vote. Antonio Guterres is due to complete his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.

The candidates so far are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, Olara Otunnu of Uganda, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana and Macky Sall of Senegal.

Security Council president Zenon Ngay Mukongo, Kinshasa's envoy to the UN, said the candidates' nominating countries would be informed of the initial poll results, with no public announcement planned. He said a second round would be announced in the coming days.

A candidate needs nine votes in the Security Council and must avoid a veto by any of the five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. If the council recommends a candidate, the choice goes to the UN General Assembly for confirmation.

In the straw poll system, each council member anonymously marks each candidate as "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion." Later in the process, ballots from permanent members are expected to be shown in a different color, allowing candidates to see whether they face a possible veto without identifying which country objected.

Many countries are pressing for the UN to be led by a woman for the first time. Panama's ambassador to the UN, Eloy Alfaro de Alba, said it was a priority that the winner be a woman from Latin America.