Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, Dr Olara Otunnu, is facing an increasingly difficult path in the race to succeed António Guterres after recording another disappointing result in the latest Security Council straw poll. The former UN official received only four encouraging votes against 11 discouraging votes, placing him fifth among seven candidates.
The seventh round of informal voting was conducted on Friday, October 30, 2026, as members of the 15-member Security Council continued assessing the candidates seeking to lead the global organisation. According to results published by UN-focused news outlet PassBlue, Otunnu’s performance declined compared to the October 16 poll, when he received five encouraging votes and ten discouraging votes.
While Otunnu struggled to attract support, United Arab Emirates candidate Lana Zaki Nusseibeh made a notable entry into the competition. Nominated on October 21, the UAE diplomat received seven encouraging votes, six discouraging votes and two members expressing no opinion, placing her among the stronger candidates despite joining the race recently.
Nusseibeh, 48, previously served as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2013 to 2024 and currently holds the position of Minister of State. Her diplomatic experience also includes presiding over the Security Council during her country’s tenure as a non-permanent member, giving her considerable familiarity with the organisation’s operations.
The latest results also showed Costa Rica’s former Vice-President Rebeca Grynspan leading the race with 11 encouraging votes and four discouraging votes. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi followed with nine encouraging votes, four discouraging votes and two members expressing no opinion, while Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett secured eight encouraging votes.
Below Nusseibeh and the leading candidates, Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa received two encouraging votes, while fellow Ecuadorian candidate Ivonne A-Baki managed only one. The results highlight the tough competition facing Otunnu, who previously served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
Otunnu’s campaign has also faced a diplomatic challenge after Kenya publicly backed Nusseibeh instead of supporting Uganda’s candidate, exposing differences in regional positions within East Africa. However, the latest straw poll did not reveal which countries supported or opposed individual candidates because the voting process does not publicly identify how each Security Council member voted.
Under UN procedures, a candidate must obtain at least nine votes in the 15-member Security Council and avoid opposition from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. The Council must eventually recommend a candidate to the General Assembly, with Guterres expected to complete his second five-year term on December 31, 2026, before his successor takes office on January 1, 2027.
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