Will we be able to elect a UN chief within the year? Even in the 5th preliminary vote, 'no one knows anything'

Opposition to leader Greenspan increases again... Possibility of new candidate running

(New York = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Yeon-sook = The UN Security Council's (Security Council) closed-door preliminary voting (straw poll) to elect the next UN Secretary-General has been held to the fifth round, but the number of votes against the main candidates has increased again, leading to a deadlock.

In this preliminary vote in which 15 Security Council members participated on the 7th (local time), Rebecca Greenspan (70), Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from Costa Rica, maintained the lead with 9 votes in favor and 6 against.

Compared to the previous vote, support decreased by one vote and opposition doubled.

What is more noteworthy than the rankings is the dissenting votes, which are still not decreasing.

The second and third ranked Argentines, Rafael Grossi (65), Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Guyanese Ambassador to the United Nations Carolyn Rodríguez-Bucket (52), also faced a strong opposition with 9 and 7 votes, respectively.

In particular, despite the fact that the seven candidates devoted all their efforts to an 'election campaign' against the heads of state and high-ranking officials of each country who gathered in New York to commemorate the High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly at the end of last month, the number of opposing votes actually increased in this vote held immediately after.

The preliminary vote is an informal process for the Security Council to select a single candidate to recommend to the UN General Assembly, and is repeated until an agreement is reached.

To become a final candidate, approval from at least 9 out of 15 Security Council members is required. Additionally, none of the five permanent members (USA, UK, France, Russia, China) may exercise veto power.

As there is no clear consensus among the existing candidates, the possibility of a third candidate with substantial support from the permanent members running is also being discussed.

Citing UN diplomats, Reuters reported that several people, including current and former foreign ministers of each country and top national figures, are seriously considering running for UN Secretary-General.

In some quarters, skepticism is raised as to whether an election will be possible within the year. Current President Antonio Guterres' term ends in December.

Diplomats are paying attention to the next preliminary vote on the 16th. From this point on, the so-called 'color voting' will be introduced to distinguish between the votes of permanent and non-permanent members.