Denmark targets Aug 21 for second Security Council UN chief poll

NEW YORK - The United Nations (UN) Security Council is expected to hold another informal poll in August as it selects the next UN secretary-general, the council president for the month said on Aug 3, while indicating that a decision is still some way off.

Portugal’s Antonio Guterres steps down as head of the world body at the end of 2026 after two five-year terms and a first “straw poll” in the 15-member Council to replace him took place last week.

That showed former Costa Rican Vice-President Rebeca Grynspan as a narrow early front runner among seven current candidates, followed by former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and then Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Christina Markus Lassen, the UN ambassador of Denmark, which holds the monthly Security Council presidency for August, said it was “aiming for and hoping to schedule” another poll on Aug 21.

Guterres’ successor faces the task of revitalising an organisation in crisis and declining stature, amid growing pressure to reform what critics say is a bloated, costly bureaucracy and reduce duplication across its agencies.

Avoiding a veto by any of the five permanent members (P5) of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States – is vital, and the countries have widely differing world views.

Precedent suggests multiple rounds of polling could continue in the coming weeks and conclude in late September or early October. Other candidates can still join the contest and the process could take longer if no consensus candidate emerges.

The other current candidates are former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, former Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former Senegalese President Macky Sall, and Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu.

In the early rounds of straw polls, identical ballots are cast, allowing diplomats to see overall levels of support and opposition without revealing any negative P5 votes.

At a later stage, the P5 use ballots of a different colour that reveal whether a candidate has received a “discourage” vote from one of them.

Lassen said she would not assume that colour-coded ballots would be used in the next round.

“That would normally happen if we’re sure that the next round is close to something where we have a final candidate that we can all agree on,” she said. “I’m not sure we’re there yet.”

The Security Council ultimately adopts a resolution recommending an appointment to the 193-member UN General Assembly. This needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes. Subsequent General Assembly approval has long been seen as a formality. REUTERS