On Thursday, the UN Security Council held its first closed-door preliminary vote on candidates for the next UN Secretary-General
On Thursday, the UN Security Council held its first closed-door preliminary vote among its 15 members on candidates for the next UN Secretary-General. When ballots are dropped into the urn behind closed doors at UN headquarters, the world holds its breath, watching a process that will determine who will steer the organisation for the next five years. The selection of a Secretary-General is not just a personnel decision, but a delicate diplomatic dance, where each vote reflects not only preferences but also geopolitical interests, strategic alliances and hidden compromises. In a year when the world is shaken by conflicts, climate challenges and economic instability, the figure of a new UN leader takes on special weight. Yet the procedure, as always, is complex: seven candidates, secret ballots, vetoes by permanent members – all in search of that one individual capable of uniting a fractured world.
During the non-binding preliminary vote, Security Council members were asked to answer in secret ballot whether they "encourage", "discourage" or have "no opinion" on each of the seven candidates. The results are not officially published – they are relayed to the candidates through their sponsoring countries and the President of the General Assembly. For a candidacy to be recommended by the Council and then appointed by the General Assembly, a candidate must receive at least nine votes in favour and no veto vote from any of the five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Zénon Mukongo Ngay, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UN (which holds the Council presidency in July), said the next informal vote would be held in the coming days under the chairmanship of Denmark, which takes over the presidency in August. "The first round of the straw poll has been held. Candidates will be informed of the results through the respective permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them. The President of the UN General Assembly will also be informed of the holding of the straw poll," Ngay told reporters after the secret ballot.
All seven candidates took part in the preliminary vote: Michelle Bachelet (Chile), former president and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; María Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), former President of the General Assembly and former foreign and defence minister; Rafael Mariano Grossi (Argentina), current Director-General of the IAEA; Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), former vice-president and current head of UNCTAD; Olara Otunnu (Uganda), former UN Deputy Secretary-General; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana), Permanent Representative to the UN; and Macky Sall (Senegal), former president.
The current Secretary-General, António Guterres, took office in January 2017, was re-elected in 2021, and his second five-year term ends on 31 December this year. Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General serves a five-year term with the possibility of re-election, but this time Guterres is not running. Based on past cycles, the preliminary voting process usually continues through the summer, with a final appointment taking place in late September or early October. If consensus is not reached, the procedure can drag on, as has happened before in UN history.
As CCTV+ reports, behind the scenes of the first secret ballots, diplomatic consultations have already begun, and the upcoming rounds will reveal which candidates have a real chance of taking the world's top post – and who will have to step aside.
