UNSC holds 6th straw poll on secretary-general candidates

The United Nations Security Council on Friday held its sixth straw poll on candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general.

"The sixth round of straw polls has taken place," said Aglaia Balta, Greece's permanent representative to the United Nations, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of October.

Each candidate will be informed of the results through the permanent representatives of nominating member states.

The president of the UN General Assembly will also be informed that the poll has been conducted, Balta told reporters after the secret vote.

Security Council straw polls on secretary-general candidates are informal closed-door ballots used to determine the viability of the candidates.

Their results are not officially released.

Through the polls, the Security Council selects a candidate to recommend to the General Assembly for appointment as the next UN secretary-general.

Security Council members were believed to receive one ballot per candidate, containing the candidate's name followed by three options: "encouraged," "discouraged" and "no opinion expressed." To win the Security Council's recommendation, a candidate needs to gain at least nine "encouraged" votes and no "discouraged" votes from any of the five permanent members of the council.

Seven candidates remain in the race: Ivonne A-Baki, a former Ecuadorian minister and diplomat; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly and former foreign minister and defense minister of Ecuador; Rafael Grossi of Argentina, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, a former UN under-secretary-general; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations; Macky Sall, a former president of Senegal.

Current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' term expires at the end of this year.

His successor is scheduled to take office on January 1, 2027.