The six candidates for UN secretary-general will debate in a televised town hall in the General Assembly Hall on Thursday. The 90-minute event, broadcast by Bloomberg, comes one week before Security Council straw polls begin on July 30. Candidates must eventually win at least nine Security Council votes without a permanent-member veto before the General Assembly formally appoints the successor, who will take office on January 1, 2027.
Six Contenders Face Televised UN Town Hall Ahead Of Security Council Straw Poll
The campaign for United Nations secretary-general lacks a clear favorite and is struggling to generate real enthusiasm -- despite the stakes (Raul BRAVO)
The six candidates vying to be the next United Nations secretary-general will take part in a televised town-hall debate on Thursday in the symbolic General Assembly Hall, just one week before the formal selection process begins for an organisation grappling with a deep financial and confidence crisis.
The 90-minute event, scheduled to start at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) and to be broadcast by Bloomberg, will feature questions from diplomats, UN staff and civil society representatives. The contenders are Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Rafael Grossi (Argentina), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana) and Macky Sall (Senegal).
"This UN town hall will ... provide a rare opportunity to engage with the ideas, priorities and leadership vision of the candidates for one of the world's most important positions," said General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, urging scrutiny of each contender's plans.
Baerbock added that in an "increasingly fragmented world" the United Nations needs not only an effective chief administrator to modernise the organisation for the 21st century, but also a leader of integrity prepared to defend the UN Charter and its three pillars: peace and security, human rights and development.
The debate comes amid sharp criticism from the United States, whose administration has accused the UN of overspending and overreach. Washington is pressing for a renewed emphasis on the organisation's core role in peace and security, while many other member states stress the equal importance of human rights and development.
International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan told AFP that, compared with the livelier 2016 contest, "the race does seem short on energy," suggesting candidates are moving cautiously to avoid alienating veto-holding powers. Each contender has already faced three hours of questioning from representatives of the UN's 193 member states.
On July 30 the Security Council's 15 members will hold a closed-door, anonymous straw poll to register preferences. That initial vote will be followed by additional rounds until a candidate can secure at least nine votes and face no veto from any of the five permanent members. The Security Council's recommendation will then be forwarded to the General Assembly for a formal appointment.
The selected secretary-general is due to take office on January 1, 2027. Diplomats say the race remains open: Rafael Grossi is often mentioned as a front-runner, but contenders such as Rebeca Grynspan and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett also enjoy strong support and a dark-horse candidate could yet emerge.
Various names continue to circulate in UN corridors and some media outlets; the New York Post has reported interest in FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a claim the paper said former US President Donald Trump would welcome. Observers note calls for the next secretary-general to be the first woman to hold the post and highlight Latin America's bid under the informal practice of geographic rotation.
What To Watch: the candidates' responses on UN reform, budget discipline, the balance between the UN's three pillars, and how each plans to strengthen the secretary-general's role in preventing and resolving conflicts worldwide.
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