In brief
In a closed‐door vote on its November session, the Security Council held its eighth straw poll for the next UN Secretary‑General. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica led the field of eight candidates, while the poll’s results remain unofficial and will be communicated to each nominator. The selected candidate will take office on New Year’s Day 2027.
The United Nations Security Council held its eighth informal straw poll on Sunday, November 5, 2026, to gauge support for people who could become the next UN Secretary‑General. The poll took place during the Security Council’s November session, chaired by Latvia’s ambassador Sanita Pavluta‑Deslandes, who is the rotating president of the council this month.
Sanita Pavluta‑Deslandes told reporters after the secret vote:
The eighth round of straw polls has taken place.
In a straw poll, each of the council’s 15 members casts a single ballot for each candidate. The ballot lists the candidate’s name followed by the options "encouraged," "discouraged," and "no opinion expressed." A candidate must receive at least nine "encouraged" votes and zero "discouraged" votes from any of the five permanent members to win the council’s recommendation.
The vote included eight nominees. Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice‑president of Costa Rica, was the front‑runner. The other candidates were Ivonne A‑Baki, former Ecuadorian minister; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former UN General Assembly president and former Ecuadorian foreign minister; Rafael Grossi, director‑general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Lana Nusseibeh, former United Arab Emirates ambassador to the UN; and Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu, former Turkish foreign minister now Secretary‑General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Because the straw polls are informal and confidential, their results are not publicly released. Instead, each nominee will learn their score through the permanent representative of the member state that nominated them. Council members will also inform the president of the UN General Assembly that the poll has taken place.
If a candidate meets the voting criteria, the Security Council will recommend that person to the General Assembly for appointment. The chosen Secretary‑General will assume office on January 1, 2027, when Antonio Guterres’s term ends.
The outcome of the straw poll is significant because the UN Secretary‑General oversees the organization’s global response to crises, peacekeeping missions, and international diplomacy. The next leader will shape the UN’s priorities for the coming years and influence how the organization addresses challenges such as climate change, human rights, and security cooperation.
