Guyana’s Rodrigues-Birkett tops UN town hall poll ahead of secretary-general selection

Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett emerged as the clear favourite in a poll following a United Nations town hall for candidates seeking to become the next U.N. secretary-general, receiving the highest level of support in two key categories.

The town hall, organised by the Office of the President of the U.N. General Assembly with support from Bloomberg, brought together member states, General Assembly observers, civil society representatives and U.N. staff as part of the selection process for the next U.N. chief.

Six officially nominated candidates participated: Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a former foreign minister; Michelle Bachelet, the former President of Chile and former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights; Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former Vice-President of Costa Rica; María Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador’s former foreign minister and former President of the U.N. General Assembly; and Macky Sall, the former President of Senegal.

Participants were asked who was best suited to lead the U.N.’s “UN80” reform agenda, an initiative aimed at making the organisation more effective and better equipped to respond to future global challenges.

Rodrigues-Birkett secured 46% of the vote.

She was well ahead of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on 14%, UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan on 13%, former U.N. General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa on 10%, former Senegalese President Macky Sall on 9% and IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi on 8%.

In a second poll asking which candidate had been the most convincing during the town hall, Rodrigues-Birkett again led by a wide margin with 49% of the vote.

Grynspan placed second with 14%, followed by Espinosa on 10%, while Bachelet, Grossi and Sall each received 9%.

The results are not binding and do not form part of the formal selection process, which is ultimately decided by the U.N. Security Council and the 193-member General Assembly.

However, the poll provides an indication of how participants viewed the candidates’ performances during one of the most public stages of the campaign.

The town hall forms part of a series of informal dialogues intended to give member states and other stakeholders an opportunity to assess the candidates’ priorities, leadership styles and visions for the future of the United Nations before the appointment of the organisation’s next secretary-general.