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Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan extended her lead in the race for the next United Nations Secretary-General after securing a top finish in the fourth round of informal straw polling on Tuesday.
Grynspan, a veteran diplomat who currently heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), received 10 “encourage” votes, three “discourage” votes, and two “no opinion” votes from the 15-member UN Security Council.
She has now placed first in three of the four informal polls as she seeks to succeed outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second five-year term concludes on December 31, 2026.
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Seven candidates—four women and three men—remain in contention for the top UN position.
Former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett placed second in Tuesday’s secret ballot with eight endorsements, while Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, finished third.
Other contenders include Senegal’s Macky Sall, Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki, Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa, and Uganda’s Olara Otunnu.
Traditional regional rotation favours a Latin American candidate for this election cycle, though African candidates remain in the running.
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Despite Grynspan’s momentum, her candidacy faces potential hurdles from the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council—Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.
To secure the nomination before going to the full General Assembly for final confirmation, a candidate must win at least nine Council votes while avoiding a single permanent-member veto.
Security Council President Jérôme Bonnafont confirmed the conclusion of Tuesday’s uncoloured straw poll, though he declined to schedule the next round or indicate when colour-coded ballots—which reveal potential permanent-member vetoes—will begin.
