Tensions rise in the race for the UN Secretary-General's seat

United Nations [New York], October 18: The race to choose the UN Secretary-General officially began late last year with the goal of finding a successor to Antonio Guterres for a term beginning January 1, 2027. Guterres became the ninth Secretary-General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon of South Korea for a term that started January 1, 2017, and is preparing to complete his second term at the end of this year.
Steps in the candidate selection process
Initially, each member state could nominate a candidate, either individually or jointly with other members. This was followed by a plenary dialogue with each candidate, organized by the UN and streamed live on the organization's online platform, UN Web TV. This dialogue step was incorporated into the process in 2016, after the General Assembly adopted procedural reforms to enhance transparency in the selection process
It is noteworthy that while the UN General Assembly and the Security Council both participate in the candidate selection process, the Security Council holds the power to propose candidates for the General Assembly to appoint. In the months leading up to the final recommendation, the Security Council, consisting of 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members, conducts preliminary polls. These are informal, anonymous votes in which members express their support, opposition, or neutrality for each candidate.
The Security Council then proceeds with the formal vote. To be nominated to the General Assembly, a candidate must receive at least nine affirmative votes and not be vetoed by any of the permanent members, including the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. If the General Assembly does not approve the proposal, the selection process is temporarily suspended until the Security Council reconvenes to find a new candidate.
Yesterday, the Security Council held its latest round of voting. Like the previous five rounds, the 15 members of the Security Council cast secret ballots to choose one of three options: "support," "dissupport," or "no opinion" for the seven candidates. However, this was the first time red ballots were used to distinguish the votes of the five permanent members.
AFP, citing two unnamed diplomats, revealed that the three leading candidates - former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan (Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development - UNCTAD); Rafael Grossi (Argentina, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA); and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana's Ambassador to the UN) - all received two red votes. However, Grynspan continued to lead in the polls with 9 "yes" votes.
While the choice of each permanent member remains unclear, many U.S. officials have stated frankly in recent weeks that no candidate currently meets the expectations of the Trump administration . Washington is focused on pushing for sweeping reforms to the 193-member global organization and is planning or has already withdrawn from several UN agencies, according to Reuters.
Speaking to reporters after leaving the closed-door vote, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz stressed that the UN needs a "strong, energetic" leader capable of bringing the organization of 193 member states back to its original core mission of maintaining peace and security.
According to AP, citing informed sources, the next round of polls will continue to use red ballots and is expected to take place this week.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper