# Secret votes and vetoes: How will the next UN chief be picked?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/secret-votes-and-vetoes-how-will-the-next-un-chief-be-picked/
- Published: 2026-11-15T06:11:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-15T11:53:53+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/15/secret-votes-and-vetoes-how-will-the-next-un-chief-be-picked?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: Elections, Geopolitics, Politics, World

## Key points

- The Security Council is using secret polls to select the next UN chief.
- Eight candidates are competing for the role.
- Any of the five permanent members can block a nominee.

## Summary

The UN Security Council is beginning a series of secret straw polls to choose the next secretary-general, who is due to take office after António Guterres steps down on 31 December. The process matters because, in practice, the five permanent members’ veto power gives them decisive influence over who leads the UN, despite the General Assembly’s formal role in approving the nominee.

Eight candidates are in the contest, including Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and the UAE’s Lana Nusseibeh. The 15-member Security Council must recommend a candidate with at least nine votes and no veto from China, France, Russia, the UK or the US; the General Assembly then votes on the recommendation. Straw polls record whether members encourage, discourage or have no opinion about candidates, with later coloured ballots helping distinguish permanent members’ votes, though the process remains largely secret.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.