Race for UN Leadership: The Straw Poll Showdown
The 15-member council will test support for seven candidates in secret ballots that use encourage, discourage and no opinion votes.
- On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council will hold initial straw polls to assess support for seven candidates vying to replace Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when he steps down at year's end.
- These informal, non-binding ballots involve the Security Council's 15 members casting secret votes to "encourage," "discourage," or express "no opinion" on each candidate before the Council recommends an appointment to the 193-member General Assembly.
- Early rounds use identical ballots to gauge support without revealing whether negative votes came from the Council's five veto-wielding permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. P5 members later use different-colored ballots.
- Prominent contenders include Rafael Grossi, Michelle Bachelet, Rebeca Grynspan, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Macky Sall, and Olara Otunnu. Congo's U.N. ambassador Zenon Mukongo Ngay confirmed Otunnu will participate despite missing earlier informal hearings.
- There is no clear front-runner; historical precedent suggests multiple polling rounds could extend through summer, with the selection process typically concluding in late September or early October. The next Secretary-General will face pressure to reform the organization's bureaucracy.
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The United Nations Security Council will hold a first round of informal "probing, closed-door" votes on Thursday to assess the support given to the seven candidates currently in the race to become the next head of...
Race for UN Leadership: The Straw Poll Showdown
The United Nations Security Council is initiating informal 'straw poll' ballots to evaluate seven candidates from various countries to succeed Antonio Guterres as Secretary-General. The process involves secret voting by Council members that could extend through September, determining a consensus candidate to lead the organization amid calls for reform.
United Nations Security Council to hold informal polls for new UN chief from Thursday
The UN Security Council will hold initial straw polls for seven candidates. These informal votes assess support for the next UN Secretary-General. The process aims to select a successor for Antonio Guterres. Multiple rounds of polling may continue through the summer months. A consensus candidate will eventually be recommended to the General Assembly.
Race to Replace UN Chief Begins as Security Council Holds First Vote
The race to succeed UN Secretary-General António Guterres officially begins on Thursday as the UN Security Council holds its first closed-door straw poll, the opening step in selecting the organization’s next leader. Seven candidates from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Senegal, and Uganda are competing to replace Guterres, whose second five-year term ends this year. With no clear frontrunner, diplomats expect several rounds of vo…
UN Security Council to hold first poll in race to replace Guterres when he steps down this year
Seven candidates from Africa and Latin America face the first secret, non-binding Security Council ballot as the UN begins choosing a successor to Secretary-General António Guterres.
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