United Nations, Aug 22 (V7N) – The UN Security Council convened Friday for a second informal "straw poll" to gauge support for a growing field of candidates vying to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general .
Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan emerged as the front-runner following the first poll on July 30 . Other candidates include Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Uganda's Olara Otunnu, Senegal's Macky Sall, and Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki, who joined the race after the first round .
The informal, non-binding ballot allows the 15 Council members to anonymously rate each candidate as "encourage," "discourage," or "no opinion" . A candidate needs at least nine votes and must avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members—the United States, China, France, Russia, and the UK—to secure the nomination . The eventual nominee is then confirmed by the General Assembly .
"The candidates will be informed of the results through the respective permanent representatives of nominating member states," said Denmark's UN ambassador Christina Lassen, whose country holds the Council's rotating presidency.
The first poll's unofficial results showed Grynspan with 10 encouragements, Rodrigues-Birkett with 9, and Grossi with 7 . However, analysts expect fluctuations in Friday's vote. "While the first straw poll set the scene for the Secretary-General race, the second may give us some direction about where it is headed," said International Crisis Group's Daniel Forti .
The selection process may take several more months, with Guterres' second five-year term ending December 31, 2026 . Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia suggested new candidates could still emerge if the current field fails to produce a consensus . It is tradition for the role to rotate among regions—Latin America is expected to be favored this time, though Sall and Otunnu are from Africa .
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