In the realm of global diplomacy, a significant development has emerged from the United Nations as the race for the Secretary-General position heats up. According to reports leaked from the Security Council’s first informal straw poll on July 30th, Senegal’s Macky Sall secured the fifth position among seven candidates vying to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends this year. The informal vote, designed to gauge the viability of candidates, saw Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan lead with 10 encouraging votes, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett with nine, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi with seven.

Each Security Council member received a ballot for each candidate, which could be marked as either encouraging, discouraged, or expressing no opinion. The process, while informal and non-binding, serves as a precursor to the General Assembly’s appointment, based on the Council’s recommendation as per Article 97 of the UN Charter.

Despite an agreement to keep the results confidential, the details leaked, mirroring a similar occurrence in the 2015 and 2016 polls. The secrecy agreement stipulated no Secretariat presence, no official record, and the destruction of ballots post-session. Despite arguments from Denmark, Greece, and Latvia for transparency, the compromise maintained privacy, informing nominating states only about their candidate’s score and the highest and lowest scores without attaching names.

The regional balance is noteworthy, with five of the seven candidates hailing from Latin America and the Caribbean—a result of the informal convention of regional rotation. Latin America has not held the UN Secretary-General post since Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru in 1991, while Africa held it through Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan until 2006. This contest marks a rare instance where African and Latin American claims are in opposition rather than alignment, both regions arguing it is their turn to hold the office.

Interestingly, Macky Sall was nominated not by Senegal, the country he governed for twelve years, but by Burundi on March 2nd. This unusual detail might have affected his candidacy, as a candidate not formally proposed by their own capital starts at a disadvantage. Adding complexity, Olara Otunnu from Uganda, nominated on July 24th, was included in the straw poll without first appearing before the General Assembly, a move that drew objections.

Looking ahead, more straw polls are expected, with the Council eventually using color-coded ballots to distinguish the five permanent members from the ten elected ones. This change will make vetoes more transparent. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock has pledged to arrange dialogues with candidates nominated after July 23rd, with an informal survey indicating Rodrigues Birkett as the most convincing. Sall’s team remains optimistic, asserting that no decision is yet settled and focusing on later consultations.

The outcome of the UN Secretary-General race is more than a diplomatic affair; it impacts peacekeeping mandates, climate finance, and sovereign debt—issues that significantly affect African and Latin American budgets. For Senegal and the broader African continent, Sall’s initial fifth-place result serves as a cautionary note in this high-stakes election. As the process unfolds, the world watches to see which candidate will steer the UN in the years to come.