Rebeca Grynspan narrowly led the United Nations Security Council's informal straw poll with 9 "encourage," 5 "discourage" and 1 "no opinion," closely followed by Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (8/6/1). Eight candidates remain in the race to succeed Antonio Guterres, who leaves at year-end. The five permanent Security Council members must agree on a nominee before the General Assembly formally elects the next secretary-general.
Rebeca Grynspan Narrowly Leads UN Security Council Straw Poll for Secretary-General
Candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, speaks during the "UN Town Hall: The Next Secretary-General" event at United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., July 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
An informal United Nations Security Council straw poll on Friday placed former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner to become the next UN secretary-general, diplomats and sources close to the process said.
Context
The 15-member Security Council held its third secret straw poll ahead of next week's annual meeting of world leaders at the UN in New York. The first informal poll in July showed Grynspan slightly ahead; the second, held last month, put Guyana's ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett on top. Eight candidates remain in the running to replace Antonio Guterres, who will step down at the end of the year after two five-year terms. Additional contenders could still enter the race.
Friday's Straw Poll Results
- Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica): 9 Encourage, 5 Discourage, 1 No Opinion
- Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana): 8 Encourage, 6 Discourage, 1 No Opinion
- Olara Otunnu (Uganda): 5 Encourage, 7 Discourage, 3 No Opinion
- Rafael Grossi (Argentina): 5 Encourage, 8 Discourage, 2 No Opinion
- Macky Sall (Senegal): 5 Encourage, 9 Discourage, 1 No Opinion
- Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador): 3 Encourage, 6 Discourage, 6 No Opinion
- Michelle Bachelet (Chile): 1 Encourage, 11 Discourage, 3 No Opinion
- Ivonne Baki (Ecuador): 0 Encourage, 10 Discourage, 5 No Opinion
What Comes Next
Security Council straw polls are secret and typically continue over multiple rounds until consensus emerges. Ultimately, the five permanent Security Council members (the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain) must agree on a candidate; any of those five can block a nominee with a veto. The Security Council then formally recommends a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly, whose approval has historically been viewed as a formality.
Richard Gowan, director for global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, said neither frontrunner has yet achieved a decisive breakthrough and suggested some of the weaker contenders may withdraw to clarify the field.
Notably, in more than eight decades of UN history, the organization has never had a female secretary-general.
(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; Edited by Caitlin Webber and Chizu Nomiyama)
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