NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – The United Nations Security Council meets on Friday, August 21, 2026, to hold a second informal straw poll to select the next United Nations Secretary-General.
Okay News reports that Daniel Forti stated that the second poll may give direction regarding the selection process to succeed Antonio Guterres, who completes his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.
“While the first straw poll set the scene for the Secretary-General race, the second may give us some direction about where it is headed,” said Daniel Forti. “Diplomats expect fluctuations in the vote distribution compared to the July poll. Most will be watching to see whether the early front-runners consolidate their support or slip in the standings.”
Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan was the front-runner following the first informal vote in July, which included candidates Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Uganda’s Olara Otunnu, and Senegal’s Macky Sall. Ecuador’s Ivonne A-Baki entered the race after the first round concluded.
To win the nomination, a candidate must receive at least nine votes from the 15 council members and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members, which are Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States. Candidates cleared by the United Nations Security Council are submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for confirmation.
Council members assign each candidate a label of “encourage,” “discourage,” or “no opinion” using identical ballots before permanent members later use differently colored ballots to signal potential vetoes. The informal straw poll mechanism was created in the early 1980s to break deadlocks between candidates.
