Rafael Grossi faces hurdle as two major powers oppose his UN bid
Race to become next United Nations secretary-general in disarray; Grossi, Argentine head of the UN nuclear watchdog, among seven candidates receiving a veto in the latest Security Council poll, complicating his path to the top job. Leer más
Argentina's Rafael Grossi faces an obstacle in his bid to become the next United Nations secretary-general after two permanent members of the Security Council signalled opposition to his candidacy in the latest informal poll.
The 65-year-old diplomat remains a contender to become the next head of the UN, but his candidacy is increasingly entangled in a diplomatic impasse after the sixth round of informal voting exposed divisions among the Security Council's most powerful members.
Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), received eight votes in favour and six against in the latest ballot, but two permanent members signalled opposition.
Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan and Guyana's former foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett were also confirmed as leading contenders, but both faced the same fundamental obstacle: opposition from permanent members capable of blocking their appointments.
The results underline the dysfunction of a selection process that has yet to produce a candidate acceptable to the five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, with geopolitical rivalries threatening to overshadow the merits of the contenders.
They will also increase speculation over the potential entry of a new candidate into the race.
Friday's ballot marked the first time the informal polling mechanism distinguished the votes of permanent members from those of the 10 elected members.
The five permanent powers used coloured ballots, while the elected members continued to use white ones, making it possible to identify how many votes of opposition came from countries with veto powers.
The distinction is crucial. Under Security Council rules, a candidate needs at least nine votes from the 15-member body and must avoid a veto from any permanent member. A candidate can therefore attract substantial support and still see their prospects derailed by a single powerful opponent. Those receiving veto signals can nevertheless remain in the race for subsequent rounds.
Grynspan received nine votes in favour, while Rodrigues-Birkett and Grossi each received eight. All three also faced opposition from permanent members, however, leaving the competition without a clear consensus candidate.
The other confirmed candidates in the race are Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki and Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Senegal's Macky Sall and Uganda's Olara Otunnu.
The informal straw-poll system was introduced in the early 1980s to help the Security Council break deadlocks between rival candidates.
For Grossi, the results pose a particular challenge. His candidacy is strongly backed by Argentina and has reportedly received support from the administration of US President Donald Trump. But support from Washington alone cannot guarantee success if other permanent members are opposed.
The United Kingdom's position could prove key, given the longstanding dispute over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, which Argentina claims and Britain administers.
The latest ballot's breakdown, attributed to unnamed sources, does not establish which permanent members opposed Grossi.
The wider contest has become entangled in competing arguments over geopolitics, regional representation and the history of the United Nations.
China and Russia have been associated with calls for a woman to succeed outgoing secretary-general António Guterres, while the BRICS grouping has also highlighted the absence of a woman in the post and the historically limited representation of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa in the organisation's leadership.
Grynspan, a former vice-president of Costa Rica and former head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has emerged as a strong candidate in the polling. Rodrigues-Birkett is also among the leading contenders.
The next secretary-general will replace Guterres, whose second five-year term ends on December 31, 2026. Tradition suggests that the position should rotate between regions, strengthening Latin America's claim to the post this time, but regional expectations will not resolve the current deadlock.
Speculation is increasing over the likelihood of new runners entering the race.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz declined on Friday to comment on media reports that Washington opposed all seven current contenders, saying: "We have always said we just simply need the best."
Asked about potential new entrants, Waltz said countries were entitled to put forward additional candidates. Names circulating among diplomats include Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the 'Board of Peace' created by US President Donald Trump, and Lana Nusseibeh, the United Arab Emirates' minister of state for foreign affairs.
Turkey's Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu, secretary-general of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has also been mentioned.
