Grynspan Extends Lead in Informal Poll for Next UN Secretary-General
Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan has extended her lead in an informal poll of the UN Security Council for the next secretary-general. Reuters reported on November 5 that she received 12 votes in favour and 3 against from the council's 15 members, her strongest showing across eight closed-door ballots.
The informal votes, known as straw polls, let council members signal their preferences before any formal decision. They do not by themselves choose a successor, but they show which candidates are gaining or losing support as the process moves forward.
The race is to replace António Guterres, whose second five-year term as UN secretary-general ends at the close of 2026. The next holder of the post is due to take office on January 1, 2027, and will be the organisation's tenth leader since 1946. CFR noted those milestones in early November.
The process began in late 2025, when the 193-member General Assembly, the UN's main body of member states, invited nominations. Under the rules, a country or group of countries nominates a candidate by letter to the two presidents overseeing the selection, and the nomination must include a vision statement and a curriculum vitae, or résumé. The UN describes the procedure on its website.
Candidates have entered at different points. Michelle Bachelet was nominated on February 2, 2026, and Ivonne A-Baki on August 17. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is also running, according to Reuters. By June, five candidates had been put forward, and a letter from the President of the General Assembly dated September 4 counted eight nominees.
The Security Council held its first and second rounds of straw polls in July and August. A UN town hall with six candidates took place on July 23.
The New York Times reports that the contest has been jolted by last-minute entrants and deep divisions among member states. It also reports that two candidates in the race are backed by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, regional rivals, according to the New York Times.
The Security Council's final recommendation still has to be made, and the General Assembly must then approve it, before a new secretary-general is in place.
