In brief
On 5 November 2026 the Security Council held its eighth straw poll for the next UN Secretary‑General, with Latvia’s ambassador Sanita Pavluta‑Deslandes presiding. Eight former officials from eight countries were considered and Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan emerged as the front‑runner. Short‑term results remain undisclosed until the next session.
The UN Security Council conducted its eighth informal straw poll to gauge support for potential successors to Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as Latvia’s ambassador to the United Nations and rotating council president Sanita Pavluta‑Deslandes announced the vote’s conclusion.
Sanita Pavluta‑Deslandes, the UN ambassador of Latvia, said:
The eighth round of straw polls has taken place.
She noted that each candidate would be informed of the poll results through the permanent representatives that nominated them and that the president of the UN General Assembly would also be notified of the poll’s occurrence, adding:
The president of the UN General Assembly will also be notified that the straw poll has taken place.
Straw poll procedure
The Security Council’s straw polls are closed‑door, informal ballots that help determine the viability of nominees for the Secretary‑General position. Each member receives one ballot per candidate, with the options “encouraged,” “discouraged,” and “no opinion expressed.”
According to Xinhua, a candidate must secure at least nine “encouraged” votes and receive no “discouraged” votes from any of the five permanent members to win the council’s recommendation.
In the sixth poll of the session, held on 16 October, the ballots were color‑coded to distinguish the votes of permanent and non‑permanent members. However, for the seventh poll on 30 October and the eighth poll today, the Security Council had reverted to undifferentiated ballots after new candidates entered the race.
Candidates and front‑runner
Barrett to eight candidates from seven countries were named for the current round, as reported by Xinhua. Former United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh, previously the country’s UN ambassador, joined the race after the sixth poll, while former Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu, presently the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co‑Operation in Europe, entered after the seventh poll.
The remaining six names listed for the eighth straw poll include Ivonne A‑Baki, a former Ecuadorian minister and diplomat; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former UN General Assembly president and former Ecuadorian foreign minister and defense minister; Rafael Grossi of Argentina, then Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica.
According to Xinhua, Rebeca Grynspan emerged as the front‑runner in the eighth round of the poll, though official results are not released publicly.
The next Secretary‑General is slated to assume office on 1 January 2027, following the conclusion of the current term.
