Rebeca Grynspan leads first UN vote to succeed Antonio Guterres

Rebeca Grynspan led the first informal Security Council straw poll to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN chief. Her early advantage sharpens the push for the first woman and possibly a Latin American Secretary-General.Stock photo used for illustrationFormer Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Antonio Guterres as the next United Nations Secretary-General after securing the highest support in the first informal "straw poll" held by the Security Council, sources said.The 15-member Council held the first closed-door, non-binding vote on Thursday to gauge support for the candidates in the race for the UN's top post. According to sources, Grynspan, who is currently Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, received 10 "encourage" votes, one "discourage" vote and four "no opinion" votes.Guyana's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, was a close second with nine "encourage" votes, two "discourage" votes and four "no opinion" votes. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi was third with seven "encourage" votes, two "discourage" votes and six "no opinion" votes. The other candidates are former Chilean President and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, former President of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, former UN Under Secretary General Virginia Gamba, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ugandan politician Olara Otunnu.Guterres, the former Portuguese prime minister, will complete his second five-year term as the ninth UN chief in December 2026. Speaking to reporters after the straw poll, Security Council president for July, Congo's Permanent Representative Ambassador Zenon Mukongo Ngay, said candidates would be informed of the results through the permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them. He said the Council had not decided when the next straw poll would be held and that the decision would be taken under Denmark's presidency of the Security Council in August. Replying to a question on why the results were not being officially released, Ngay said, "The thinking behind it is to keep everything close, and we want transparency at the same time, efficiency, but we don't want speculations on that." US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the Security Council would reach its conclusions "in the coming months" and stressed the need for a Secretary-General who would reform the organisation, make it "leaner and more fit for purpose", and "more relevant on the international stage". He also called for the consolidation of UN agencies and greater allocation of resources to field operations rather than headquarters.The 193-member UN General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council, where the five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - hold veto power. The UN has never had a woman as its leader in its 80-year history, and a General Assembly resolution adopted in September last year encouraged member states to "strongly consider nominating women as candidates" for the post. While the selection does not follow any regional rotation, there are also calls for the next UN chief to come from Latin America. As the election process has begun, both the US and China have publicly backed the election of a woman as the next UN chief. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 31, 2026 10:40 IST