The United Nations Security Council holds the second round of voting on candidates for Secretary-General

(Central News Agency, United Nations Headquarters in New York, comprehensive foreign reports on the 21st) The United Nations Security Council held a second round of straw polls today to assess the growing lineup of candidates for Secretary-General and their support, and to select the next leader of this troubled international organization.

Agence France-Presse reported that Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan led the first round of voting last month. The 15 members of the Security Council, including the five permanent members with veto power, expressed their support for the candidates in a private way.

Current candidates include Argentinian International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Administrator Rafael Grossi, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Uganda's Olara Otunnu and Senegal's Macky Sall.

After the first round of intention voting, Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki also announced her candidacy to compete for the post of current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after he steps down. Guterres will end his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.

Daniel Forti, director of United Nations affairs at the International Crisis Group, said: "The first round of intention voting kicks off the election of the Secretary-General, and the second round of voting may allow us to see the direction of the situation."

Forti said diplomats expect the distribution of votes among candidates to change compared with July.

He pointed out that it is unlikely that the candidates will take a clear lead after today's vote; veto-power countries such as the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States may wait until a later stage to express their positions, and new candidates may also join the race.

According to reports, even if a candidate obtains the support of at least 9 votes among the 15 members of the Security Council, he must still avoid being vetoed by any of the five permanent members, and these five countries currently have serious differences in their positions. After the candidate passes these two levels, the candidate will be sent to the United Nations General Assembly composed of all United Nations member states for confirmation.

The intention-to-vote mechanism of the Security Council was established in the early 1980s to break the deadlock in the election when both candidates were rejected. Although some countries have criticized this opaque process, this mechanism is still used in different forms today.