Eight candidates are currently in the running. In the second round of voting, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s former foreign minister, who at 52 is the youngest of the eight candidates, took the lead. She overtook Rebeca Grynspan, Costa Rica’s former vice president, who came first in the initial vote in July, as well as Rafael Grossi, the Argentine head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In the closed-door vote, the Council’s 15 members were able to cast their ballots anonymously, choosing between “encourages,” “discourages,” and “no opinion.” According to a geographical tradition—which is not always observed—the continents take turns providing the UN Secretary-General. This time, Latin America is claiming the post, which explains why the majority of the candidates come from the region. A number of countries are also lobbying for a woman to head the UN for the first time.
Five women and three men are currently seeking to succeed 77-year-old Portuguese António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends at the end of December. “It is still too early to speak of a consensus,” said Zenon Ngay, the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the UN, following the vote. Asked when the next round of voting would take place, the President of the Council, Denmark’s Christina Lassen, replied that the matter would now be “considered.”
The new Secretary-General will have no easy task. He will take the helm of the United Nations at a time when the international organization is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, facing a growing number of conflicts, persistent divisions within the Security Council, and serious financial difficulties. At the same time, the United States is regularly questioning the UN’s role and the way it is funded.
