UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday held its second straw poll on the candidates for the next UN secretary-general.
"The second round of straw polls has taken place," said Christina Markus Lassen, the UN ambassador of Denmark, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of August.
After the conclusion of the secret vote, Lassen told reporters that the candidates will be informed of the results through the respective permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them. The president of the UN General Assembly will also be informed that the straw poll has been concluded, she said.
Through straw polls, the Security Council selects a candidate to recommend to the General Assembly for appointment as the next UN secretary-general.
Security Council straw polls on secretary-general candidates are informal closed-door ballots used to gauge support for the candidates. Their results are not officially released.
Article 97 of the UN Charter states that the secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
Lassen did not provide any details of Friday's vote. However, it is believed that all eight candidates were on the ballot.
The eight candidates currently in the race are: Ivonne A-Baki, former Ecuadorian minister and diplomat; Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former UN General Assembly president and former foreign minister and defense minister of Ecuador; Rafael Grossi of Argentina, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, former UN under-secretary-general; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations; and Macky Sall, former president of Senegal.
Security Council members were believed to have received one ballot per candidate, containing the candidate's name followed by three options: "encouraged," "discouraged," and "no opinion expressed," according to What's in Blue, which provides insights into evolving Security Council actions.
The term of current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will end on December 31. ■
