Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi competed in the ongoing contest to succeed António Guterres as United Nations Secretary-General before his term ends.
Rafael Grossi Advances to Second Place in Fifth Straw Poll
The secret ballot among the 15 Security Council members left the leadership contest wide open as member states continue testing candidates ahead of a formal recommendation. Para proponer un aspirante ante la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, será necesario que el Consejo de Seguridad llegue a un consenso. Antonio Guterres, who is an ex-prime minister of Portugal, finishes his tenure at the conclusion of the year following a pair of five-year terms, as Guterres is scheduled to exit office at the close of 2026.
Grossi, who serves as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and whose bid is backed by Argentina’s government, has been in the race. En cuanto a Rafael Grossi, máximo responsable del Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica, este ha conseguido enderezar su rumbo tras el reciente proceso de votación en el que había cedido terreno.
An unnamed source told Clarín that Rafael was more competitive, and his stability across the rounds has put him in second place.
Rebeca Grynspan Holds the Lead Despite Losing Support
Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan retained her position at the front of the field despite stumbling in the fifth round. Grynspan, who currently heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, continues to lead. Esther Brimmer, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs and a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, underlined during a chat with Clarín that none of the candidates gained supporting votes.
This fourth vote took place after top world leaders gathered in New York last week to attend the UN General Assembly.
| Candidate | Affiliation / Role | Favorable Votes | Negative Votes | No Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebeca Grynspan | Former Costa Rican Vice President / UNCTAD Head | — | — | — |
| Rafael Grossi | Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency | — | — | — |
| Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett | Guyana UN Ambassador | — | — | — |
| Macky Sall | Former President of Senegal | — | — | — |
Security Council Rivalries Deadlock Search for New Secretary-General
The race to replace António Guterres, whose second five-year term concludes on December 31, 2026, remains deadlocked over geopolitical rivalries among the permanent five members of the Security Council: the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Any of these nations can block a candidate with a single veto. When Guterres was chosen in 2016, it took six straw polls to reach agreement.
Regional rotation norms favor Latin America for this election cycle, while historic precedents also elevate demands from member states to select the first female secretary-general in the organization’s history. Candidate Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett remains in the race.
Further down the ballot, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ugandan politician Olara Otunnu, Ecuadorian diplomat María Fernanda Espinosa, and Ivonne Baki remain in the running. Past selection cycles, such as the late-December selection of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, demonstrate that prolonged negotiations among veto-wielding powers can stretch the timeline. The selection still depends on negotiations within the Security Council and approval by the General Assembly.