Key facts
- Rebeca Grynspan, former Costa Rican Vice President, is the frontrunner in the race for the 10th UN Secretary-General.
- An informal poll by the UN Security Council on Wednesday placed Grynspan ahead of seven contenders.
- Grynspan's support weakened slightly in the latest poll compared to the previous week.
- The selection process involves secret ballots where members "encourage," "discourage," or have "no opinion" on candidates.
- The UN has never had a female Secretary-General in its 81-year history.
Rebeca Grynspan, the former Vice President of Costa Rica, is leading the race to become the next UN Secretary-General, according to results from an informal poll conducted by the UN Security Council. The poll, held on Wednesday, placed Grynspan ahead of seven other contenders.
However, Grynspan's support saw a slight decrease compared to the previous week's poll, indicating ongoing negotiations and potential gridlock among the 15-member Security Council. This result might prompt other senior figures to enter the race.
The selection process involves secret ballots where members indicate whether they "encourage," "discourage," or have "no opinion" on candidates. In one poll, Grynspan received 10 "encourage" votes, three "discourage" votes, and two "no opinion" votes. Guyana's UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Argentina's Rafael Grossi, director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, were close behind with eight "encourage" votes each in that same poll.
The UN Security Council has held multiple straw polls, but no candidate has yet emerged with overwhelming backing. The five permanent members of the Security Council—the United States, China, Russia, France, and Britain—must agree on a candidate. The current Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, steps down at the end of the year after two five-year terms.
The next UN Secretary-General will face significant challenges, including ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, potential cutbacks in American contributions to the UN, and the organization's perceived declining political relevance.