Former Senegalese leader Sall's bid for UN top job in trouble after straw poll

Macky Sall’s bid to succeed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres could be in trouble after the Security Council’s first informal straw poll.

The former President of Senegal received just six votes in favour, with seven against and two abstentions.

The poll isn’t binding and several other rounds will take place before the final ballot in the autumn.

Sall finally secured his own country’s support for the job last month after Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye endorsed his candidacy.

The country’s ruling Pastef party however still holds Sall responsible for the deaths of 80 people dead during protests in 2021 and 2023.

Ugandan politician and former UN Deputy Secretary-General Olara Otunnu entered the race at the last minute. He secured just two votes in favour, five against and eight abstentions.

While both candidates remain in the running, Costa Rica’s Rebecca Grynspan, who heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, is widely seen as the current frontrunner, receiving 10 votes in favour, one against and four abstentions.

The UN has made no secret of wanting a woman for its next Secretary-General. Many also argue that it’s Latin America’s turn to lead the organisation.

The other candidates are Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Rafael Grossi of Argentina and Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

That first straw poll will be followed by an unspecified number of similar votes until one candidate can secure the required nine votes without a veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia.

The name of the selected candidate will then be sent to the General Assembly for the formal appointment to the position. He or she will take office on January 1, 2027.