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SearchCosta Rican candidate Rebeca Grynspan received nine votes in favor and six against in the Security Council’s fifth informal ballot. The result keeps her in the lead, but does not resolve whether she can overcome a veto by one of the five permanent members.
Costa Rican Rebeca Grynspan again came first in the race to succeed António Guterres as Secretary-General of the United Nations. However, the result of the fifth informal ballot of the Security Council, held on October 7, showed narrower support: she received nine votes in favor and six against, compared with ten in favor and three against in the previous round.
The ballot, held behind closed doors, allowed the Council’s 15 members to rate each candidate as “encourage,” “discourage” or “no opinion.” The results, reported by diplomatic sources, indicate preferences but do not amount to a final decision on who will take the post.
Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, came second with six votes in favor, seven against and two abstentions. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s former foreign minister, came third, according to reports on the round.
Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), had led four of the five ballots held since July. The latest result maintains that lead, but the increase in votes against her leaves the extent of her support uncertain.
The five permanent members — China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia — have veto power. Therefore, even a majority of votes in favor in the Council does not guarantee that a candidacy can advance: a veto by any of those countries can block it. If a candidate clears that stage, the Council submits their name to the General Assembly for confirmation.
The October 7 ballot was anonymous, and its publicly available figures do not identify which countries cast votes against the candidates. Infobae attributed specific vetoes to the United States against Grynspan and to the United Kingdom against Grossi, but these claims do not follow from the anonymous results that were released and should be understood as reports by that outlet, not as facts confirmed by the ballot.
A new ballot was scheduled for October 16, according to news coverage. El País reported that this round was expected to make the positions of the permanent members clearer, although the result remained uncertain.
Guterres concludes his second term on December 31, 2026. The tradition of regional rotation points to Latin America this time, and no woman has ever been elected to lead the UN; however, these precedents do not determine who should be selected. The choice will depend on the Security Council process and on whether the candidacy that advances is blocked by a permanent member’s veto.
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