Every UN chief candidate vetoed as Grynspan holds lead in sixth straw poll

The race to become the next United Nations secretary-general has entered its decisive phase with no clear winner, after all seven candidates received at least one “discourage” vote — effectively a veto — from a permanent Security Council member in Friday’s straw poll.

The sixth informal ballot, held less than three months before Antonio Guterres’s term ends on December 31, placed Costa Rica’s former vice president Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner. She received nine “encourage” votes, five “discourage” and one “no opinion”, with two of the opposing votes coming from permanent members. Diplomats said every contender received two or more opposing votes from the decisive P5 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Friday’s poll was the first to use colour-coded ballots revealing whether a veto power opposed a candidate, while the ten elected members continued with plain markers.

Guyana’s UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett received eight votes in favour, six against and one “no opinion”, with two permanent members opposed. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, posted a near-identical result with one fewer permanent member supporting him.

Securing the council’s recommendation requires at least nine positive votes of the 15 members and no “discourage” votes from the five permanent members. With no candidate meeting that bar, diplomats said the door is open for new contenders to join. Potential entrants floated include Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza under the US-backed Board of Peace, the UAE’s Lana Nusseibeh, and Turkey’s Feridun Sinirlioglu, secretary general of the OSCE.

The US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, declined to comment on reports that Washington opposes all seven contenders, but said countries were free to nominate more candidates: “We have always said we just simply need the best.”

Sources:

• Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/grynspan-holds-lead-next-un-chief-race-enters-decisive-stage-2026-10-16/ (opened first-hand; published 16 Oct 2026)
• Times of Israel liveblog (diplomat sources): https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/costa-ricas-grynspan-holds-narrow-lead-in-race-to-become-next-un-chief-as-all-contenders-receive-veto-in-latest-straw-poll/ (opened first-hand; published 16 Oct 2026, updated 17 Oct 2026)
• AFP via Le Pays de France: https://www.lepaysdefrance.fr/en/Politics/749112-all-contenders-for-un-chief-receive-veto-diplomat.html (opened first-hand; published 16 Oct 2026)