The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, Ambassador Olara Otunnu, has improved his standing in the second informal Security Council straw poll, increasing his “encouraged” votes from two to five, although he remains some distance from the leading candidates in the race.
The second-round results, received by Otunnu from the President of the UN Security Council, show that five of the Council’s 15 members indicated that they were encouraged by his candidacy. Five members were discouraged, while five expressed no opinion.
This marks an improvement from the first straw poll held on July 30, when Otunnu received only two “encouraged” votes, five “discouraged” votes and eight “no opinion” votes- the weakest showing among the candidates at the time.
The second ballot saw Otunnu gain three additional encouraging votes and reduce the number of undecided members from eight to five, while the number discouraging his candidacy remained unchanged at five.
However, the Ugandan candidate still trails several of his rivals. According to the results circulating from the second ballot, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett received eight encouraging votes, while Argentina’s Rafael Mariano Grossi and Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan each received seven. Senegal’s Macky Sall received six encouraging votes.
Otunnu’s five encouraging votes place him alongside María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, who also received four encouraging votes, and ahead of some candidates on the encouragement tally. The figures nevertheless show that he has yet to secure the broad level of support required to emerge as the Council’s preferred candidate.
The straw polls are informal and non-binding and are intended to gauge the level of support for candidates before the Security Council moves towards a formal recommendation. The Council has 15 members, including five permanent members- the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom- with veto power. A successful recommendation requires at least nine votes and no veto from a permanent member.
Otunnu, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, was nominated by Uganda on July 24, becoming the seventh candidate in the race. He also has a historical connection to the straw-poll process: while serving as President of the Security Council in 1981, he helped develop the informal system that is now used to test candidates’ acceptability.
Uganda has stepped up its campaign following Otunnu’s entry into the race. Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, said the government had made the campaign a top priority after President Yoweri Museveni directed the ministry and Uganda’s diplomatic missions worldwide to support the bid.
“I am proud to be part of this viable candidature of Ambassador Olara Otunnu for United Nations Secretary General,” Ayebare wrote on X, thanking member states for giving Otunnu an opportunity to present his vision.
Ayebare said Uganda’s diplomatic machinery had been instructed to make the campaign a top priority.
Otunnu, meanwhile, said he had received the official outcome of the second straw ballot from the Security Council President.
“I am grateful to all members of the Security Council. I look forward to continued engagement with members of the Security Council and all member states of the United Nations,” Otunnu said in a statement posted on X.
The second ballot gives Uganda renewed momentum, but the figures also show the scale of the diplomatic challenge facing Otunnu. While his support has more than doubled from two to five encouraged votes, he still needs to convert undecided members and win over those currently opposed to his candidacy.
The race is expected to continue through further consultations and straw polls before the Security Council makes its recommendation to the 193-member General Assembly. The successor to António Guterres is expected to take office on January 1, 2027.
