Rodrigues-Birkett falls to third in 5th straw poll for UN SG

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s candidate to be the next UN Secretary General fell to third position in the fifth straw poll held today while Costa Rica’s candidate Rebeca Grynspan maintained the lead she has kept for most of the race.

According to Pass Blue which has been a reliable source of information on the votes, Grynspan picked up 9 encourage votes, six discourage votes and zero in the no opinion category.

In the second position for the first time was Argentina’s Rafael Grossi who polled six encourage votes, seven discourage votes and two in the no opinion category.

Rodrigues-Birkett who had come out ahead in one of the polls scored five encourage votes, nine discourage votes and one in the no opinion category.

In the fourth round of voting, Grynspan received 10 encourage votes, three discourage and two no opinion. Rodrigues-Birkett received ⁠eight encourage ​votes, six discourage and one no opinion. Grossi, the director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, received eight encourage and seven discourage votes.

The next vote on October 16th will be crucial as the five permanent members of the UN Security Council will indicate whether they will wield the veto against any of the candidates. A veto against any of the candidates will automatically bring their campaign to an end.

There have been suggestions that the US may oppose Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy on the basis of her declaration of Israel’s war in Gaza as genocidal. Today’s fifth straw poll coincided with the third anniversary of the horrific attack by Hamas militants against Israel.

Reuters said today that the fifth ⁠secret poll by the 15-member Security ​Council followed days of intense negotiations among diplomats ​in New York, after the past four ballots have not resulted in the emergence of one candidate with ​overwhelming backing.

Although Grynspan is still leading ​the pack of seven contenders, the support for her ‌weakened ⁠slightly compared to the poll last week, suggesting ongoing gridlock, a result that may prompt other senior figures to join the ​race, Reuters added.