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Title

Security Council straw polls fail to agree the next UN Secretary-General

Date
16 and 30 October 2026 (sixth and seventh straw polls)

What happened?

Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. To choose a successor to António Guterres, whose second term ends in 2026, the Council has held a series of informal, anonymous straw polls in which members encourage or discourage each candidate.

At the sixth poll on 16 October 2026, ballots were colour-coded for the first time so that the votes of the five permanent members could be told apart. The leading candidate, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, was reported to have been discouraged by two permanent members. A seventh poll on 30 October was again reported to show no agreed candidate.

Relevant factual details

  • VerifiedArticle 97 of the UN Charter says the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
  • VerifiedThe 2025–26 selection process was formally started by a joint letter from the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council published on 25 November 2025, under General Assembly resolution 79/327.
  • VerifiedCandidates took part in interactive dialogues held by the President of the General Assembly, which were webcast.
  • ReportedAny of the five permanent members can block the Council’s formal recommendation.
  • ReportedAt the sixth straw poll on 16 October 2026, the first with colour-coded ballots, Rebeca Grynspan received 9 encourage and 5 discourage votes, two of the discourage votes from permanent members.
  • ReportedAt the seventh straw poll on 30 October 2026, Grynspan was reported to lead with 11 encourage and 4 discourage votes; the reported results did not show whether any discourage votes came from permanent members.
  • ReportedAntónio Guterres’s second term ends on 31 December 2026.

Verified Confirmed against an original or authoritative source
Reported Taken from a secondary or reference source; to be confirmed against the original
Source to check Established knowledge, but the cited source has not yet been opened

Why is it politically significant?

The selection shows the privileged position of the five permanent members inside the UN. Even an informal poll was redesigned so that their preferences could be seen separately, because any one of them can block the final recommendation.

It also shows efforts to make the UN more open: public nominations, vision statements and webcast dialogues give the General Assembly and the wider membership a larger visible role than in earlier selections.

Arguments and counterarguments

Which arguments does it support?

The UN Security Council is dominated by its permanent members

Reasoning
The Charter gives the Council the power to recommend, and any permanent member can block that recommendation.
Evidence
Colour-coded straw polls were introduced so that permanent members’ discourage votes could be identified; the leading candidate was reported to have been discouraged by two of them.
How it supports the argument
A candidate supported by most Council members can still fail if a single permanent member objects.

Great-power rivalry limits the effectiveness of global governance

Reasoning
Realists argue that states use institutions to pursue their own interests.
Evidence
Seven straw polls by the end of October 2026 had not produced an agreed candidate.
How it supports the argument
The choice of the UN’s chief official depends on agreement between rival powers rather than on the wider membership.

Which counterarguments exist?

A different conclusion

The process has become more open

Supporters of reform argue that public nominations, vision statements and webcast dialogues with candidates make the selection more transparent and give the General Assembly and the public a greater role than before.

Limits of the evidence

Straw polls are informal

Straw poll results are unofficial and anonymous, and are known only from news reports. They show the state of support at a point in time, not a final decision.

Other explanations

Long contests are not unusual

In 2016 the Council needed six straw polls before agreeing on Guterres, so several rounds of polling may reflect normal bargaining rather than deadlock.

Concepts and connections

Concepts it illustrates

No glossary concepts linked yet.

Sources and verification

Event16 and 30 October 2026 (sixth and seventh straw polls)
Added to bank6 November 2026
Last checked6 November 2026
Next check due6 May 2027
  1. 1
    Publisher United NationsPublished 1945-06-26Type LegislationChecked not yet opened
    Source to check
  2. 2
    Publisher United NationsPublished 2026-11-01Type OfficialChecked not yet opened
    Source to check
  3. 3
    Publisher Congressional Research ServicePublished 2026-09-01Type ReportChecked not yet opened
    Source to check
  4. 4
    Publisher The NationalPublished 2026-10-16Type NewsChecked not yet opened
    Source to check
  5. 5
    Publisher The NationalPublished 2026-10-30Type NewsChecked not yet opened
    Source to check

About this example

Is it still current?

Developing

No candidate had been recommended at the last check. António Guterres’s term ends on 31 December 2026.

Why it is in the bank

A live example of permanent members’ power in the UN Security Council, distinct from the use of the veto on a resolution.

  • ✓Relevance to the specification
  • PartlyStrength and reliability of the evidenceStraw poll results are unofficial and come from news reports; the Security Council Report page on the polls could not be opened in this run.
  • ✓Importance to a wider political debate
  • ✓Usefulness in evaluative essays
  • ✓Connections to other topics
  • ✓Sufficiently current
  • ✓Adds something new to the bank

Editorial status

Approved

Signed off for students.

Origin: Human-written · Reviewer: Editor

Every fact on this page has been checked against original sources.