Key Takeaways:
- Michelle Bachelet UN chief race ended after she received 11 discouraging votes.
- Her withdrawal leaves seven candidates competing for the Secretary-General post.
- Rebeca Grynspan and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett lead the current straw poll results.
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet exits the Michelle Bachelet UN chief race after a Sept. 18 Security Council poll sharply reduced her support.
Michelle Bachelet UN chief race ends after poor poll result
Bachelet, 74, announced her withdrawal Saturday in a video posted to Instagram. She had sought to become the first woman to lead the United Nations since its founding more than 80 years ago.
“Today I announced that I have decided not to continue with my candidacy for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations,” Bachelet said.
She later said she did not regret taking on the challenge, even though she believed “the time was not right” for the candidacy she wanted to represent.
Bachelet’s campaign focused on multilateralism and international law. Brazil and Mexico backed her nomination, while Chile initially supported her candidacy before withdrawing its backing earlier this year.
Security council poll weakens her campaign
The Michelle Bachelet UN chief race setback followed the third informal Security Council straw poll on Friday. Bachelet received one “encourage” vote, 11 “discourage” votes and three “no opinion” votes among the 15 council members.
Her support had fallen from six “encourage” votes in July to two in August, before dropping to one in the latest ballot. The result signaled that she faced difficulty securing the backing needed to advance.
Richard Gowan, director of global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, said the latest numbers could prompt candidates with weaker support to leave the contest.
“I think these figures may encourage any additional candidates who are waiting in the wings to jump into the race quite soon,” Gowan told Reuters.
Seven candidates remain in UN leadership race
Bachelet’s withdrawal leaves seven candidates seeking to replace current Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends Dec. 31. More candidates can still enter the race.
Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan led the latest straw poll with nine “encourage” votes, followed by Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett with eight. The remaining candidates include Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa.
The Security Council must recommend one candidate to the 193-member General Assembly. A candidate needs at least nine council votes and cannot face a veto from any of the five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Guterres has warned that the organization faces major financial and political pressures. He described the United Nations’ financial situation earlier this year as facing “imminent financial collapse.”
The annual General Assembly high-level session begins in New York this week, bringing world leaders together as the selection process continues.
