KABUL (Pajhwok): None of the seven candidates seeking to become the next United Nations secretary-general has secured the support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council in the latest straw poll, leaving open the possibility of new candidates entering the race.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that the secret ballot was held on Friday and showed that the five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — had yet to agree on who should succeed António Guterres, who has led the United Nations for almost 10 years.
If none of the current candidates wins the support of the five veto-wielding members, new candidates could enter the race for the post of UN secretary-general.
As in the previous five informal ballots, the 15 Security Council members voted to “encourage” or “discourage” the seven candidates or express “no opinion”. However, red ballots were used for the first time to distinguish the votes of the five permanent members from those of the other council members.
According to two diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the ballot was confidential, the three leading candidates — Rebeca Grynspan, the UN trade chief from Costa Rica; Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency from Argentina; and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s ambassador to the United Nations — each received two red “discourage” votes.
Grynspan, a former Costa Rican vice-president, remained at the top of the poll with nine “encourage” votes.
AP reported that although it was not known how each Security Council member had voted, several US officials had made clear in recent weeks that none of the candidates was ideal from the perspective of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The administration has focused on radical reforms of the United Nations and the withdrawal, or planned withdrawal, of the United States from several UN agencies.
However, despite the administration’s differences with the United Nations and its bureaucracy, as well as its reservations about the next secretary-general, US officials have not ruled out supporting one of the declared candidates.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the US position was still being refined and would become clearer in the coming days.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told reporters after leaving the closed-door Security Council meeting that the organisation needed “strong, energetic leadership” to refocus the 193-member body on its original mission of maintaining peace and security.
“This institution, after 80 years, has tried to become everything to everyone,” Waltz said. “We put it on a diet, so to speak — we’re all a little better off after being on a diet — and [need to] get it focused on peace and security.”
By tradition, the post of secretary-general rotates among regions, and this time it is Latin America’s turn. There is also pressure to appoint a woman, who would become the first female secretary-general in the UN’s history.
“We understand there is a desire for regional rotation,” Waltz said. “Of course, if the best candidate is a woman, we would welcome that — but we really just need the best candidate.”
According to AP, the two candidates who received the least support in Friday’s ballot were women: María Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly and former foreign minister of Ecuador, and Ivonne A-Baki, a former Ecuadorian ambassador.
Two African candidates — former UN diplomat Olara Otunnu of Uganda and former Senegalese president Macky Sall — each received 10 “discourage” votes.
The two diplomats said the next informal Security Council ballot, which will also use red ballots to distinguish the votes of the permanent members, would be held next week.
Both Waltz and Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia left open the possibility of new candidates entering the race.
“We’re going to get this done, I’m confident, before the end of the year,” Waltz said.
“That is my wish, definitely,” Nebenzia said.
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