ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fifteen Security Council diplomats participated in a secret ballot on Thursday to elect the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the next five years, as current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' term nears its end.
"The first round of straw poll has taken place. The candidates will be informed of the results through the permanent representatives of the member states that nominated them,” Zenon Mukongo Ngay, UN Security Council President, announced on Thursday, noting that “the President of the General Assembly will also be informed that the straw poll has been conducted.”
The straw poll is an informal, secret ballot designed to test the viability of candidates before a formal vote. During these rounds, all 15 Security Council members receive identical ballots and anonymously mark each candidate with one of three options: encourage, discourage or no opinion.
“We encourage the utmost transparency, but ultimately this is a decision in the hands of the member states," Farhan Haq, UN Secretary-General Deputy Spokesperson, told Rudaw on Thursday.
Meanwhile, US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, told reporters, "We need a Secretary-General that is going to reform this institution, that is going to make it leaner, more fit for purpose, more relevant on the international stage.”
Additional secret ballots are expected to follow this initial vote. During the election of the current secretary-general 10 years ago, voting was conducted six times before a consensus was reached on Antonio Guterres. Once a consensus is formed, the General Assembly conducts a formal vote to elect the secretary-general.
In the entirety of its 80 years of existence, the United Nations has never had a female Secretary-General. This year there are seven candidates, four of whom are women. To be appointed the position of Secretary-General, a candidate must secure nine votes from the 15 members of the Security Council, provided that no permanent member vetoes them.
