NEW YORK, United States (US): Six candidates vying to succeed United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, outlined their priorities on Thursday in a televised-style debate before the UN General Assembly, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
The candidates answered questions on challenges facing the UN, including Security Council deadlock, financial pressures, and the growing number of international crises.
The event came as an unconfirmed report that International Federation of Association Football’s (FIFA) President, Gianni Infantino, could enter the race generated discussion at UN headquarters.
The declared candidates are Rafael Grossi, the Argentine head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), former Senegalese president Macky Sall, Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan, Guyana’s UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, and former UN General Assembly president Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador.
Diplomats and UN observers have yet to identify a clear frontrunner, and additional candidates can still enter the race.
The New York Post reported this week that US President Donald Trump could back Infantino, with whom he has close ties, for the role.
UN expert Richard Gowan said Infantino’s name has appeared in discussions about possible outsider candidates for UN secretary-general for some time, though often more ironically than seriously.
Even if the US were to nominate the Swiss national, Gowan said Infantino’s close association with Trump would likely lead China and Russia in particular to question his impartiality, casting doubt on his chances.
The UN Security Council will first recommend a candidate, with its five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the US – each able to block a nomination with a veto.
The General Assembly then votes to confirm the recommendation, a step that is typically regarded as a formality.
Guterres, of Portugal, steps down at the end of the year after serving the maximum of two terms. The Security Council is due to hold its first informal straw poll later this month. – BERNAMA-dpa
