The key facts

  • For the first time in an informal poll, permanent Security Council members used colored markers indicating a veto; all seven candidates received at least one such 'veto'
  • Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica) again received the most 'encourage' votes, but got five 'discourage' votes, including two from permanent members
  • According to US media reports, the US is against all seven candidates; by tradition, the post of secretary-general should go to a woman from Latin America

All candidates received a 'veto' from permanent members

All seven contenders for the post of UN secretary-general received a 'discourage' vote — effectively a veto — from one of the five permanent members of the Council in the latest informal Security Council poll, a diplomat said on Friday. This was the first round of anonymous informal voting in which the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States used colored markers to indicate a veto, while the 10 elected members of the Council continued to use regular ones.

Grynspan keeps the lead despite two vetoes

Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, who was among the favorites in the five previous polls, this time received the highest number of 'encourage' votes, but at the same time five 'discourage' votes, including two from permanent members of the Council. On average across the first five rounds, Grynspan showed the best result and on Friday again took first place. The other candidates are: former Foreign Minister of Guyana Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, IAEA head Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Macky Sall of Senegal, Yvonne A-Baki and María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, as well as the Ugandan Olara Otunnu.

The US position and possible new candidates

According to US media reports, Washington does not support any of the seven contenders in the race. US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz declined to comment on these reports, but said on Friday: 'We have always said we just need the best.' Answering a question about the possible emergence of new candidates, Waltz noted that countries wishing to put forward additional candidates are 'certainly acting within their sovereign rights.' Among potential newcomers, diplomats name Nikolay Mladenov, the senior representative for Gaza in the US-backed 'Board of Peace,' UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Lana Nusseibeh, as well as the OSCE head, Turk Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu.

How the election works and what comes next

The current secretary-general, António Guterres of Portugal, leaves the post on December 31, 2026, at the end of his second five-year term. To win, a candidate must receive at least nine votes out of 15 in the Security Council and avoid a veto from any of the five great powers, which are deeply divided. After that, the candidate is confirmed by the General Assembly. The straw poll was devised in the early 1980s to break a deadlock when two candidates were blocked by vetoes; the informal mechanism persists in various forms, despite criticism from countries unhappy with the opacity of the process. By tradition, the post of secretary-general rotates among regions: this time it should go to a woman from Latin America, although Sall and Otunnu represent Africa.