Rebeca Grynspan leads third informal vote for UN secretary-general

Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan has once again taken the lead in an informal vote by UN Security Council members on candidates for the post of the organization's next secretary-general.

According to Report, citing Reuters, Grynspan received nine votes in favor and five against in the third closed-door poll held on Friday. One member abstained.

This was the third informal poll of UN Security Council members as part of the process to select a successor to António Guterres. Grynspan also received the most support in the first vote in July, while Rosemary DiCarlo narrowly led the second round in August.

A total of eight candidates are running for the post of the next UN secretary-general. Guterres will complete his second five-year term at the end of 2026.

The Security Council will hold several more rounds of informal polls in the coming weeks. The UN's official list of candidates includes Rafael Grossi (Argentina), director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Macky Sall (Senegal), former president of Senegal; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), former president of the UN General Assembly; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana), Guyana's permanent representative to the UN; Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (Ecuador / diplomat); and Olara Otunnu (Uganda), former foreign minister of Uganda.