Rebecca Greenspan has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to be the next UN secretary-general after a sixth unofficial vote in the Security Council. The former vice president of Costa Rica received nine "encourage" votes, five "discourage" votes and one "no opinion" vote.
Two of the negative votes against her came from permanent members of the Security Council. This means that while she is leading in support, Greenspan still does not have the necessary consensus to be recommended by the UN's most influential body.
“The game is not over – "We'll have to keep working," Greenspan told Reuters.
Grossy and Rodriguez-Birket are right behind her
Guyana's permanent representative to the UN, Caroline Rodriguez-Birket, received eight "encourage" votes, six "discourage" votes and one "no opinion." Argentina's Rafael Grossi had the same result. He is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Rodriguez-Birket and Grossi also received negative votes from permanent members of the Security Council. According to Reuters and Agence France-Presse, all seven contenders received at least one such vote, leaving room for new names to enter the race.
The sixth ballot marked the first time that colored ballots were used. They show whether the negative vote against a candidate comes from a country with a veto right.
Where does Nikolay Mladenov stand?
Nikolay Mladenov is not among the seven candidates who participated in the sixth unofficial vote. His candidacy is mentioned separately by “Republika“, according to which Donald Trump is unofficially studying support for the Bulgarian among countries close to the US, including in Europe.
Mladenov is a former Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, as well as a former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East. According to the publication of “Republika“ Trump is considering him as a possible successor to Antonio Guterres because of the UN's potential role in negotiations with Iran and in ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
This remains an unofficial initiative, not a formal nomination in the UN process.
The decision must be made by the end of the year
The Security Council has less than two and a half months to recommend a successor to the 77-year-old Guterres, whose term ends on December 31, 2026. To recommend a candidate, at least 9 votes “in” are needed; of the 15 council members and not a single negative vote from Russia, China, the US, France or the UK.
After the recommendation, the final choice is made by the UN General Assembly.
Sources: investing.com, repubblica.it