The race to choose the next United Nations Secretary-General is entering a critical stage, with the UN Security Council set to conduct a second informal straw poll on August 21 to assess support for candidates seeking to succeed António Guterres.

Denmark’s UN Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen confirmed that the second poll will be held as the Council continues consultations over the next UN chief, whose five-year term is expected to begin in 2027 after Guterres completes his two terms in office.

Among the seven candidates in the race is Uganda’s former UN Under-Secretary-General and diplomat Ambassador Olara Otunnu, who entered the contest with Uganda’s official backing. Otunnu is a veteran international diplomat who previously served as President of the UN Security Council and is credited with helping develop the informal straw poll process used in selecting UN Secretaries-General.

The first informal poll placed Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan in the lead with 10 “encourage” votes, followed by Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett with nine and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi with seven. Other candidates include Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, and Senegal’s Macky Sall.

The straw polls are confidential and non-binding, allowing Security Council members to indicate whether they encourage, discourage, or have no opinion on candidates. The process is designed to identify a candidate who can secure broad support while avoiding opposition from any of the five permanent members of the Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Security Council will eventually recommend one candidate to the 193-member UN General Assembly, where the final appointment is expected to be approved.

For Africa, Otunnu’s candidacy represents an opportunity for the continent to secure the leadership of the world body for the first time since the UN was founded, amid longstanding calls for greater African representation in global governance institutions.

The selection process is expected to continue through several rounds of consultations and voting before a final recommendation is made later this year.