Grynspan leads after sixth UN Security Council vote — The National

In New York, United States, the UN Security Council held its sixth vote to select the organization’s next secretary-general. Costa Rican candidate Rebeca Grynspan retained a narrow lead, receiving nine favorable and five unfavorable votes, two of which came from permanent members of the Security Council.

As The National reports, Argentine Rafael Grossi and Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett each received eight favorable and six unfavorable votes. Each of them also received unfavorable votes from two permanent members of the Security Council.

Colored ballots

For the first time during the current selection process, Security Council members used colored ballots, which made it possible to separate the positions of the five permanent members — the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, the aggressor state, and the United States — from the votes of the body’s ten elected members.

Before the vote, Panamanian President José Mulino said that his country would support Grossi. Panama is one of the non-permanent members of the Security Council. None of the seven candidates who took part in the October 16 vote withdrew their candidacy, and no new contenders emerged.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

US position and new candidates

Grynspan told Reuters that new names could enter the race after the vote and stressed that the process is not yet over. Minh-Thu Pham, co-founder of the Starling Institute and a former adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that the gap between the three leaders had narrowed significantly and that there was no common position among the permanent members of the Security Council.

According to her, unfavorable votes are not equivalent to a veto, so the possibility remains for new candidates. At the same time, Pham warned that there is increasingly less time for new contenders to enter the race and win support in the Security Council.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said after the vote that Washington wants to see a strong and energetic leader at the head of the organization who will return the UN to its core mandate of maintaining international peace and security. He also said that the United States is primarily seeking the most qualified candidate rather than being guided by the principle of regional rotation or a candidate’s gender.