By Michelle Nichols, David Brunnstrom and Olivia Le Poidevin
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 18 (Reuters) – An informal poll by the United Nations Security Council on Friday placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner in the contest to become the 10th UN secretary-general, diplomats and other sources close to the process said.
The third secret poll by the 15-member Security Council came ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York next week. The first poll in July showed Grynspan narrowly ahead and the second vote last month placed Guyana’s UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett in the top spot.
Eight candidates are vying to succeed Antonio Guterres, who steps down at the end of this year after two five-year terms. It is still possible for more candidates to enter the race.
Richard Gowan, director of global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, said neither Grynspan nor Rodrigues Birkett seem to be able to make a decisive breakthrough and “it is time for some the weaker candidates to bow out of the race.”
“I think these figures may encourage any additional candidates who are waiting in the wings to jump into the race quite soon,” said Gowan.
Ultimately the five Security Council veto powers – the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain – need to agree on a candidate. When Guterres was chosen in 2016, it took six straw polls for the Security Council to reach agreement.
The UN Security Council will eventually formally recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election. The approval by the assembly has long been seen as a rubber stamp.
FRIDAY’S NUMBERS
In the Security Council straw polls, which are expected to continue for several more rounds, Security Council members are asked on secret ballots if they “encourage,” “discourage” or have “no opinion” on candidates.
Grynspan received nine encourage, five discourage and one no opinion and Rodrigues Birkett received eight encourage, six discourage and one no opinion, diplomats and sources close to the process said.
In the more than 80-year history of the United Nations there has never been a female secretary-general.
Uganda’s Olara Otunnu, a diplomat and former U.N. under-secretary-general, received five encourage, seven discourage and three no opinion; Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the high-profile director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, received five encourage, eight discourage and two no opinion; while Senegal’s former president Macky Sall received five encourage, nine discourage and one no opinion.
Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former Ecuadorean foreign and defence minister and former president of the UN General Assembly, received three encourage, six discourage and six no opinion; Michelle Bachelet, a two-time president of Chile and a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, received one encourage, 11 discourage and three no opinion; while Ivonne Baki, an Ecuadorean diplomat, received zero encourage, 10 discourage and five no opinion.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge in Geneva, Francois Murphy in Vienna and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Chizu Nomiyama)
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