6 UN Secretary-General Candidates Face Televised Debate Ahead Of Crucial Selection Process

Six candidates seeking to become the next United Nations Secretary-General will participate in a televised debate on Thursday, as the race to lead the global body enters a decisive phase ahead of the formal selection process.

The 90-minute debate, scheduled to take place in the UN General Assembly Hall at 5:00 p.m. (2100 GMT), comes one week before the Security Council begins its first round of voting to choose a successor to outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The event, which will be broadcast by Bloomberg, will feature Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Senegal’s Macky Sall.

The candidates will answer questions from diplomats, United Nations staff and representatives of civil society, offering their visions for leading the organisation at a time of mounting financial and political challenges.

President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, described the debate as an important opportunity for member states and the global public to assess the candidates.

“This UN town hall will … provide a rare opportunity to engage with the ideas, priorities and leadership vision of the candidates for one of the world’s most important positions,” Baerbock said.

She added that the next UN chief must be capable of steering the organisation through an increasingly complex global landscape.

“In an increasingly fragmented world, the United Nations needs not only an exceptional chief administrator who will make the organization fit for the 21st century but also the leadership and integrity of someone willing to vigorously defend the UN Charter and all its three pillars,” she said.

The debate comes as the United Nations grapples with a deep financial and confidence crisis. The administration of United States President Donald Trump has criticised the organisation for what it describes as excessive spending, an expanding mandate and poor performance.

Washington has called for the UN to refocus on its core responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, while several other member states insist that human rights and sustainable development remain equally critical pillars of the organisation’s mandate.

Analysts say the current race has been notably less competitive than previous contests.

International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan said the campaign has so far lacked the intensity seen during the 2016 selection process that eventually produced Guterres.

“The race does seem short on energy” compared with the livelier 2016 campaign, which had “more candidates and lots of intrigue,” Gowan told AFP.

He added:

“This time around everyone agrees that the race is incredibly important for the future of the UN, but the contest itself has been quite cautious. There is a sense that the candidates are treading carefully to avoid offending the US and other veto powers.”

Ahead of Thursday’s debate, each candidate has already undergone about three hours of questioning by representatives of the UN’s 193 member states.

Most have pledged to continue reforms aimed at making the organisation more efficient while strengthening the Secretary-General’s role in global peace initiatives.

The UN Security Council is expected to conduct its first confidential “straw poll” on July 30, allowing its 15 members to anonymously indicate their preferred candidates.

The voting process will continue through additional rounds until a candidate secures at least nine votes without a veto from any of the Security Council’s five permanent members.

The successful nominee will then be recommended to the General Assembly for formal appointment and is expected to assume office on January 1, 2027.

While diplomats say the outcome remains difficult to predict, Gowan noted that Argentina’s Rafael Grossi remains the most frequently mentioned frontrunner, although other contenders continue to attract strong support.

“I find that Grossi is still the mostly frequently mentioned front-runner, but he has not locked the race up. Other candidates like Grynspan and Rodrigues-Birkett also have significant numbers of admirers,” he said.

He also suggested that an unexpected candidate could still emerge before the selection process concludes.

Among the names reportedly circulating in diplomatic circles is FIFA President Gianni Infantino, whom the New York Post claimed President Trump would like to see lead the United Nations.

The race has also renewed calls for the UN to appoint its first female Secretary-General, while Latin American countries argue that, under the organisation’s tradition of geographical rotation, the position should go to a candidate from the region.