UN Secretary-General Election Stalemate: Top Candidates Face Veto Hurdles

UNITED NATIONS: The election for the next United Nations secretary-general remains deadlocked, with the top three candidates each facing opposition from two permanent members of the Security Council, just 76 days before Antonio Guterres is due to be succeeded.

In the sixth round of informal straw polls held on Friday (local time), UNCTAD chief Rebecca Grynspan of Costa Rica led the field with nine positive votes. Former Guyana Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birket and International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi followed, each receiving eight positive votes. All three candidates received two negative votes from permanent members.

The latest poll was the first to use colour-coded ballots to distinguish the votes of the five permanent Security Council members from those of the 10 elected members. Although the results are meant to remain confidential, they were leaked to UN-focused publications PassBlue and 1for8Billion.

Grynspan received five negative votes and one neutral vote overall. She has led five of the six polls, with Rodrigues-Birket taking the lead in the second round in August. Rodrigues-Birket received six negative votes and one neutral vote, while Grossi recorded the same overall figures. However, she secured three positive votes from permanent members, compared with Grossi's two.

The remaining candidates performed less favourably. Former UN under-secretary-general and Ugandan foreign minister Olara Otunnu, former Senegalese president Macky Sall, and former Ecuadorian foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa each received three negative votes from permanent members. Former Ecuadorian ambassador to the United States Ivonne A-Baki received five. The deadlock could trigger negotiations among the veto-wielding powers and between candidates and permanent members. Alternatively, new contenders could enter the race. The Council must recommend a candidate who secures at least nine affirmative votes without a veto from any permanent member, before the General Assembly formally appoints the secretary-general.

Calls for a woman to lead the UN are gaining momentum, as the organisation marks 80 years without having elected a female secretary-general. Latin America and the Caribbean are also pressing their claim, having not held the position since Javier Perez de Cuellar completed his term in 1991.

The United States could prove decisive. Reports suggest the Trump administration considers none of the seven candidates sufficiently qualified and wants a successor committed to sweeping UN reforms. (IANS)

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