Story perspectives

UN Security Council Holds July Straw Polls for SG

4/28/2026

Summary

UNSC Starts Strawpolls

The UN Security Council will start straw polls in July to choose among candidates: Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president, Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief, Rebeca Grynspan, UN deputy secretary-general, and Macky Sall, Senegal president.
Bachelet lacks Chile’s backing and faces U.S. opposition, while Sall has a nomination but no Union support.
A candidate who gets nine votes without a veto could win this summer, though vetoes might cause a 1981-style deadlock.

Summary

Republicans Urge Veto

Twenty-eight Republican lawmakers urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to veto Bachelet, calling her a “pro-abortion zealot.”
Grossi of the IAEA cited the team sent to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia plant in September 2022 as proof of his diplomacy.
Only four candidates remain for the 2026 election, down from 13 in 2016, with the winner slated to start on January 1 2027 amid wars and climate crises.

Summary

UN Enforces Endorsements

No UN secretary-general has ever been elected without a home government’s nomination, creating a de-facto prerequisite.
In 2016 Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd ended his bid after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declined to nominate him.
Also in 2016 Bulgaria withdrew support for Irina Bokova, nominated Kristalina Georgieva, and neither candidate won.
Although Article 97 does not require it, the General Assembly later codified the practice, making home-government endorsement a formal rule.

History

Historical Context

During the 1981 Secretary-General selection, the Security Council deadlocked after 16 voting rounds, with the United States vetoing Salim Ahmed Salim and the Soviet Union vetoing Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, preventing any candidate from reaching the nine-vote threshold. Council President Olara Otunnu introduced secret straw polls, a practice that became the norm and shapes today’s July polls featuring Michelle Bachelet and others.

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UNSC Starts Strawpolls

The UN Security Council will start straw polls in July to choose among candidates: Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president, Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief, Rebeca Grynspan, UN deputy secretary-general, and Macky Sall, Senegal president.
Bachelet lacks Chile’s backing and faces U.S. opposition, while Sall has a nomination but no Union support.
A candidate who gets nine votes without a veto could win this summer, though vetoes might cause a 1981-style deadlock.

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