A seventh candidate has entered the race for the post of the next leader of the United Nations.
Olara Otunnu of Uganda is a former opposition presidential candidate and a former senior UN official, AFP reports.
The world organization informed member states of the candidacy of the 75-year-old Otunnu, which was presented by his home country.
Otunnu served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 1997 to 2005 under then UN chief Kofi Annan.
He was also Uganda's envoy to the UN and, for a short period, his country's foreign minister.
Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebecca Greenspan of Costa Rica, Caroline Rodriguez-Birket of Guyana and Macky Sall of Senegal are in the running to succeed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who leaves office on December 31.
The six candidates participated in a televised debate on Thursday.
On July 30, the 15-member UN Security Council is due to hold its first closed-door, anonymous vote on their preferred candidates.
One of the candidates must secure the required nine non-veto votes from any of the five permanent members - the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia.
The name of the chosen candidate will be sent to the General Assembly for formal appointment to the position.
He or she will take office on January 1, 2027.