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The monthly magazine, September 2026 · Global Affairs and International Relations › United Nations and Security Council reform

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Choosing the next UN Secretary General

LeadPrelims and Mains18 Sep 2026

Why in news

On 18 September 2026 the United Nations Security Council held its third straw poll on the candidates to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends on 31 December 2026.
Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica led with nine "encourage" votes and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett of Guyana had eight.
The next day Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile, withdrew after receiving one encourage vote and eleven discourage votes.
Seven candidates remain, and for the first time the office may go to a woman and to Latin America.

Article 97 of the Charter says the Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Council chooses; the Assembly confirms.
The Council's recommendation needs at least nine votes, with no veto by a permanent member. The Assembly has never refused a Council recommendation, and in practice appoints by acclamation.
Since 2015 the Assembly has asked for a more open process: public nominations, candidates' vision statements and hearings. Resolution 79/327 of 2025 set the procedure for this round and asked States to nominate women, since no woman has held the office.
The Charter does not require the office to rotate among regions, but the practice is watched. Of the nine holders so far, seven terms went to Western Europe, four to Asia, three to Africa and two to Latin America.

Eight candidates stood by August 2026, all from Latin America or Africa.
Grynspan, a former Vice President of Costa Rica and head of the UN trade body UNCTAD, led the July poll. Rodrigues Birkett, Guyana's former Foreign Minister, led the August poll.
Other candidates: Macky Sall, former President of Senegal; Olara Otunnu of Uganda; Rafael Grossi of Argentina, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency; María Fernanda Espinosa and Ivonne A-Baki of Ecuador.
Bachelet's campaign had lost its own government's support in March 2026 after a change of President in Chile, which shows how much a candidate depends on the home State.

The Secretary General sets the agenda of the Secretariat, appoints its senior officials, and can bring any matter to the Council under Article 99.
The office is the one place where the Global South's claim to a larger voice can be answered without amending the Charter, which Security Council reform would require.
Gender and region are both in play: a Latin American woman would answer two long standing claims at once.

How a Secretary General is chosen, and where the 2026 race standsOpen full size

India has no candidate. Its stake is in the process: a Secretary General chosen openly, from the developing world, strengthens the case India makes for reformed multilateralism.
The next Secretary General will chair the Secretariat during India's campaign for the 2028-29 Council seat and the next round of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on reform.

See where power sits. The Charter gives the General Assembly the appointment, but the Security Council's recommendation decides it, and within the Council five States can each block any name.
Open process, closed decision: the reforms since 2015 made the race visible, with hearings and vision statements, but did not move the decision, so the secret straw polls are the real election.
Substance or symbol: ask whether the likely result, a woman from Latin America, would be a reform of substance or of symbol.
Link it to Security Council reform: both are the same question, who speaks for the world's majority, answered in two different ways.

A single term of seven years, which the Assembly's own resolutions have discussed, so that the Secretary General does not campaign for a second term.
Publish the straw poll results, so that the Council's choice is accountable to the Assembly that appoints.
A formal commitment to regional rotation, which the Charter lacks.

Prelims: Article 97 (appointment), Article 99 (bringing matters to the Council); the Council recommends, the Assembly appoints; nine votes and no veto; no woman has held the office; the present term ends on 31 December 2026.
Mains: "The selection of the UN Secretary General has become more transparent but no more democratic." Discuss in the light of the 2026 process.

Show the questions

Prelims 2022: With reference to the United Nations General Assembly, consider the following statements: 1. The UN General Assembly can grant observer status to the non-member States. 2. Inter-governmental organisations can seek observer status in the UN General Assembly. 3. Permanent Observers in the UN General Assembly can maintain missions at the UN headquarters. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Prelims 2022: With reference to the "United Nations Credentials Committee", consider the following statements: 1. It is a committee set up by the UN Security Council and works under its supervision. 2. It traditionally meets in March, June and September every year. 3. It assesses the credentials of all UN members before submitting a report to the General Assembly for approval. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Sources

Congressional Research Service, 1 September 2026, “United Nations Issues: Appointing the UN Secretary-General”
United Nations, “Charter of the United Nations”
AllAfrica, 20 September 2026, “Michelle Bachelet withdraws from race to become next UN chief”
UNCTAD
News on AIR, 14 July 2026