UN Security Council to hold seventh informal poll on candidates for secretary-general

On Friday, October 30, the UN Security Council will hold its seventh informal anonymous poll on candidates to succeed António Guterres, whose term expires at the end of the year. Rebeca Grynspan leads after previous rounds, but the race remains open: eight candidates are in the running, including Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE, who joined recently.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 30 October 2026 at 08:262 min read

The key facts

The seventh straw poll is scheduled for Friday, October 30, 2026
Eight candidates are in the race; Lana Nusseibeh (UAE) joined the list of contenders last week after no consensus was reached
Rebeca Grynspan led in previous rounds, but her victory is not guaranteed

Seventh round of informal voting

The UN Security Council will hold its seventh informal (straw) poll on candidates for the post of secretary-general on Friday, October 30, The National reports. The poll is informal and anonymous, but it shows how council members assess each of the contenders. In the previous round, color-coded ballots were used to distinguish the votes of the five permanent members — the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States — from those of the ten elected members.

The state of the race

António Guterres leaves office at the end of the year. This time the contest is among eight nominated candidates: Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana), Rafael Grossi (Argentina), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Macky Sall (Senegal), Ivonne Baki (Ecuador), Michelle Bachelet (Chile), María Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador) and Olara Otunnu (Uganda). Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE entered the race last week after no consensus was reached. According to The National, Grynspan came out ahead in previous rounds, but her victory is far from guaranteed. For comparison: when Guterres was chosen in October 2016, the council needed six polls to reach agreement — the current process has already exceeded that mark.

What is at stake

The election carries special symbolic significance: in the UN's 81-year history, the organization has never been led by a woman, and several of the current candidates are women. The new UN chief will become the organization's chief administrative officer and its representative, as well as a diplomat whose task is to help resolve conflicts. According to The National, Guterres's successor will have to work amid numerous conflicts, including the Iranian war, the conflict in Sudan, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.