UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday held its third straw poll on the candidates for the next UN secretary-general.
The candidates will be informed of the results through the respective permanent representatives of their nominating member states, Jerome Bonnafont, the UN ambassador of France, told reporters after the conclusion of the secret vote. France holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of September.
Security Council straw polls on secretary-general candidates are informal closed-door ballots used to determine the viability of the candidates, whose results are not officially released. Through straw polls, the Security Council selects a candidate to recommend to the General Assembly for appointment as the next UN secretary-general.
However, Friday's straw poll results were leaked.
Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, led Friday's poll with nine votes in favor, according to "1 for 8 Billion," a global campaign advocating a fair, open and inclusive process to appoint the first woman UN secretary-general. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations, followed with eight votes.
Grynspan got five negative votes, and Rodrigues-Birkett got six negative votes, according to "1 for 8 Billion."
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," according to "What's in Blue," a publication which provides insights on evolving Security Council actions.
In the first straw poll on July 30, Grynspan won 10 votes in favor, followed by Rodrigues-Birkett, with nine votes in favor. In the second round on Aug. 21, however, they swapped places. Rodrigues-Birkett led by eight votes in favor, followed by Grynspan with seven votes in favor.
In the third straw poll, negative votes grew for both candidates.
The remaining six candidates are: Ivonne A-Baki, a former Ecuadoran minister and a diplomat; Michelle Bachelet, a former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a 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; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, a former UN under-secretary-general; Macky Sall, a former president of Senegal.
Current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' term of office expires at the end of this year. The next secretary-general will take over the role on Jan. 1, 2027. ■
