Candidate to lead UN gets no support in Security Council poll; hold informal vote to elect new chief

In an unprecedented move, one of the candidates seeking to lead the United Nations received no support during an informal vote conducted by the Security Council this Friday. The candidate, whose name has not been disclosed, failed to secure even a single endorsement among the 15 members of the council, according to diplomatic sources. This informal vote, known as a "straw poll," was held in a highly organized manner, with representatives receiving white ballots allowing them to indicate either support, opposition, or neutrality. The second round of candidate assessments follows an initial survey conducted at the end of July, which saw Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu emerge as the least supported candidate, garnering just two votes. Otunnu had entered the race relatively late and did not have the opportunity to present his work plan before the General Assembly. This week, he appeared before member states alongside Ecuadorian candidate Ivonne Baki, whose candidacy was officially announced recently. The current survey serves as an early indicator for Baki’s campaign, marking her first formal assessment. Traditionally, candidates who receive minimal support tend to withdraw midway through the selection process. During these informal votes, representatives are given white ballots to express their stance, support, opposition, or no opinion. While the results remain confidential, they occasionally leak to the media. Earlier this year, some members expressed frustration over the leakage of previous voting outcomes after agreeing to keep the results private. According to additional reports from specialized media outlet PassBlue, the candidate who received the most support in the latest informal vote secured eight endorsements, two fewer than in the prior survey. In the first round, Costa Rican candidate Rebeca Grynspan, currently serving as secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), received ten supports, one against, and four neutral votes. She was followed by Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's current ambassador to the UN, with nine votes in favor, and Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who garnered seven supports. The Security Council convened on Friday for another exploratory vote aimed at gauging the popularity of an increasing number of candidates hoping to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN secretary-general. The council met behind closed doors starting at 10 AM local time (2 PM GMT), with each of the 15 members anonymously assigning one of three ratings, "supports," "does not support," or "no opinion", to each candidate. The Danish ambassador to the UN, Christina Lassen, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the council, stated that the results would be communicated to the candidates through their respective permanent representatives. She added that the council is considering the timing of the next "indicative vote." The Security Council meeting marked the second such "indicative vote" among eight candidates for the position of secretary-general, with the majority hailing from Latin America. Currently, five women and three men are vying to replace the 77-year-old Portuguese incumbent, Guterres, whose second five-year term will conclude on December 31. The council continues its deliberations, with no clear consensus emerging yet.