UN Security Council Sets Second Poll for Secretary-General

The United Nations Security Council aims to conduct a second informal straw poll on August 21 to select the next U.N. Secretary-General. Christina Markus Lassen, the U.N. ambassador of Denmark and current council president, announced the target date but cautioned that a final decision remains distant.

Seven candidates are competing to succeed António Guterres, who departs at the end of the year. An initial poll held last week identified former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as a narrow frontrunner, followed by former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Argentina's Rafael Grossi. Other candidates in the race include Michelle Bachelet, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Macky Sall, and Olara Otunnu.

To secure the position, a candidate must obtain nine votes and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent Security Council members before the body sends a recommendation to the U.N. General Assembly.