UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday held its seventh straw poll on candidates vying to become the next UN secretary-general.
"The seventh round of straw polls has taken place," said Aglaia Balta, Greece's permanent representative to the United Nations, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of October.
Each candidate will be informed of the results through the permanent representatives of nominating member states. The president of the UN General Assembly will also be informed that the poll has been conducted, Balta told reporters after the secret vote.
Security Council straw polls on secretary-general candidates are informal closed-door ballots used to determine the viability of the candidates. Their results are not officially released.
Through the polls, the Security Council selects a candidate to recommend to the General Assembly for appointment as the next UN secretary-general.
Council members are believed to receive one ballot for each candidate, containing the candidate's name followed by three options: "encouraged," "discouraged" and "no opinion expressed."
To win the council's recommendation, a candidate needs at least nine "encouraged" votes and no "discouraged" votes from any of the five permanent members of the council.
In the sixth straw poll held on Oct. 16, ballots were color-coded to distinguish the votes of permanent and non-permanent members. However, in the seventh straw poll, the council members switched back to undifferentiated ballots following the entry of a new candidate into the race.
Lana Nusseibeh, a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates and the country's former permanent representative to the United Nations, entered the race on Oct. 21. Macky Sall, a former president of Senegal, announced his withdrawal on Oct. 17.
In addition to Nusseibeh, six candidates participated in the seventh straw poll: Ivonne A-Baki, a former Ecuadoran minister and diplomat; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly and former foreign minister and defense minister of Ecuador; Rafael Grossi of Argentina, the current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, a former UN under-secretary-general; and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations.
According to leaked results, Grynspan topped Friday's poll with 11 "encouraged" votes and four "discouraged" votes. She was followed by Grossi, who received nine "encouraged" votes, four "discouraged" votes and two "no opinion expressed" votes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' term expires at the end of this year. His successor is scheduled to take office on Jan. 1, 2027. ■
