Khaberni - The UN Security Council will convene on Friday to conduct a second round of "indicative voting" to select the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, amid deep divisions within the institution.
So far, three men and five women are competing to succeed the 77-year-old Portuguese António Guterres, whose second term of five years ends on December 31, 2026.
The fifteen council members who will meet in a closed session starting at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. GMT) will evaluate each candidate by adopting one of the following options: "encourage," "discourage," or "no opinion," and the identity of the member expressing the opinion remains confidential.
At the end of an initial voting round conducted on July 30, the former Vice President of Costa Rica and President of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebecca Grynspan (70 years old) received the highest number of favorable votes.
This vote comes as the United Nations goes through one of the most difficult periods in its history, facing a decline in multilateralism and ongoing divisions within the Security Council as well as significant financial difficulties.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who continues to question its role and funding mechanisms, the United Nations struggles to influence many major conflicts, while budget cuts threaten its humanitarian operations and peacekeeping efforts.
If a candidate receives support from nine of the 15 member states of the Security Council, he must avoid a veto from any of the five major powers (the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom), which are greatly divided under current global conditions.
Overcoming this hurdle allows the referral of the candidate's name to the General Assembly, which includes all United Nations member states, for ratification.
Normally, a rotation between geographic regions is adopted for the position. Based on this convention, it is assumed that the post will be held by a person from Latin America.
Several countries are pushing for a woman to reach the position of Secretary-General for the first time in the history of the United Nations.
Grynspan led the first round, particularly against the former Foreign Minister of Guyana Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (52 years old) and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Argentine Rafael Grossi (65 years old).
The candidates are Chilean Michelle Bachelet (74 years old), Ecuadorian María Fernanda Espinosa (61 years old), Ugandan Olara Otunnu (75 years old), Senegalese Macky Sall (64 years old), and Ecuadorian-Lebanese diplomat Yvonne Abdel Baki (75 years old), in addition to Grynspan, Rodrigues-Birkett, and Grossi.
Although Grossi is considered the most famous, observers believe that none of the candidates have a clear advantage in a race that might extend for months.
Diplomats are reserved about predicting the outcome of the race due to the influence of the five permanent member states of the Security Council, especially since these countries have not yet announced their preferred candidate.
Even Vassily Nebenzia, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, hinted on Thursday before the press that new candidates might emerge for this position.
