Chile’s former president Michelle Bachelet has stepped out of the race to be the next secretary general of the United Nations. She withdrew her candidacy after support among members of the UN Security Council fell away. Her withdrawal leaves seven candidates in the contest.
Bachelet, 74, announced her withdrawal in a video message published recently on Instagram. In it she said she would carry on her international work with the same determination as before.
A two-term president of Chile, Bachelet has also served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. One of the themes of her campaign for the secretary general’s post was the defence of the multilateral system and international law. Both, she said, are currently under pressure.
It was the lack of support among Security Council members that finally forced Bachelet out of the contest. Support for her fell away almost entirely in a third informal straw poll held on Friday. The Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan was ahead in the same poll.
The second five-year term of the current secretary general, Antonio Guterres, ends on December 31. A new secretary general will take office after that. The number of candidates in the contest may yet rise.
In the process for electing a United Nations secretary general, the Security Council first recommends a candidate. The 193-member General Assembly then elects that candidate. Once consensus is reached in the Security Council, approval by the General Assembly is generally a formality.
Bachelet served two terms as president of Chile. She later served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. Her candidacy for secretary general was built on her long-standing position in favour of international law and multilateral cooperation. She has left the contest after failing to hold the necessary support in the Security Council’s recent informal vote.
Winning Security Council support among the remaining candidates has now become the key question in the process of choosing the next United Nations secretary general. Once the council makes its final recommendation, the election will be held in the General Assembly.