Full Breakdown
Bachelet Withdraws from UN Secretary-General Race After Poor Security Council Straw Poll
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet announced she will no longer pursue the United Nations secretary-general post. The decision came the day after the Security Council’s third informal straw poll on September 18, where she received one “encourage” vote, 11 “discourage” votes and three “no opinion” votes. Her withdrawal leaves seven candidates still in contention for the role that will be filled after Antonio Guterres steps down at the end of December 31, 2026.
Background & Context
The UN secretary-general is selected through informal Security Council polls that ask members to “encourage,” “discourage,” or register “no opinion.” A candidate must secure at least nine of the 15 Council votes and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members before the Council formally recommends a name to the 193-member General Assembly. An unwritten regional rotation tradition has placed Latin America on the agenda for this cycle; only one Latin American—Peru’s Javier Perez de Cuellar (1982-1991)—has ever held the post.
Poll Results and Candidate Landscape
- Rebeca Grynspan (former vice-president of Costa Rica) – 9 encourage, 5 discourage, 1 no opinion.
- Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana’s UN ambassador) – 8 encourage, 6 discourage, 1 no opinion.
- Michelle Bachelet (Chile) – 1 encourage, 11 discourage, 3 no opinion.
- Other candidates receiving fewer than five encourage votes include Uganda’s Olara Otunnu, Senegal’s Macky Sall, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi and Ecuadorian diplomat Maria Fernanda Espinosa.
The poll reduced the field from eight to seven candidates, with four women (Grynspan, Rodrigues-Birkett, Espinosa, Ivonne Baki) and three men remaining.
Official Statements & Responses
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned earlier that the organization faces “imminent financial collapse” and that geopolitical divides have left the UN deadlocked on crises such as Gaza and Ukraine. He said the unresolved race for his successor will not by itself resolve these challenges.
Mexico’s foreign ministry, which continued to back Bachelet after Chile’s government withdrew its nomination, described her as “integral, humanist and just” and cited her experience as Chile’s two-time president, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former executive director of UN Women.
Criticism & Opposition
UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, led a diplomatic campaign questioning Bachelet’s human-rights record. Executive director Hillel Neuer argued that the vote reflected a “crushing rejection” of a candidacy that “looked away” from mass detentions in China, political imprisonments in Russia, and repression in Iran, Cuba, Turkey, North Korea and Venezuela.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on when Chile withdrew its formal support. UN Watch notes a withdrawal on March 24, while other outlets state that the new Chilean administration under President Jose Antonio Kast pulled backing after taking office in early 2024. Both agree Chile’s backing was removed, but the precise timing remains unclear.
Some reports list eight candidates remaining after Bachelet’s exit, whereas others count seven. The discrepancy stems from whether the withdrawn candidacy is still tallied among “still-in-the-race” candidates in the immediate aftermath of the poll.
What’s Next
The Security Council will continue informal polling in the weeks leading up to the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level session, which opens the Tuesday after the upcoming New York gathering under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation.” The Council must reach a consensus on a single candidate before recommending that person to the General Assembly for formal appointment. The outcome will determine who steers the UN through its financial shortfall and ongoing geopolitical stalemates.