After finishing second in the first straw poll in July, Guyana’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, ended in the lead in the second United Nations Security Council (UNSC) straw poll earlier this week, securing the highest number of “encourage” votes among the candidates.

According to reports, Rodrigues-Birkett received eight encourage votes, three discourage votes and four no-opinion votes to come out in the lead of the second round of voting by the 15-member Security Council. The result placed her ahead of Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, who received seven encourage votes, four discourage votes and four no-opinion votes. In the previous straw poll Rodrigues-Birkett had finished just behind Grynspan after she ended with 9 encouraged votes, two discouraged votes and four no opinion votes. In the first straw poll, Grynspan had led the field with 10 encourage votes, one discourage vote and four no opinions. In this round, while Rodrigues-Birkett’s encourage votes declined by one, Grynspan’s fell by three, allowing the Guyanese candidate to emerge with the highest number of encourage votes in the field. Rodrigues-Birkett and Grynspan are among a total of eight candidates currently vying to become the next UNSG. The next UNSG will assume office on January 1, 2027, succeeding António Guterres. The Security Council began its formal consideration of candidacies on July 30, 2026. The other candidates are Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, María Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Macky Sall of Senegal, Olara Otunnu of Uganda, and Ivonne A-Baki of Ecuador. A-Baki is the newest entrant being nominated earlier this month August. Candidates have been participating in the General Assembly’s interactive dialogues before the Security Council began its selection process. Women currently make up five of the eight candidates, a notable feature of a race in which the UN has never had a woman SG in its 80-year history.

Among the men, Argentina’s Grossi is the highest leading male candidate. In the first straw poll Grossi ended with seven encourage, two discourage and six no opinion votes. In the second straw poll he ended with seven encourage, six discourage and two no opinions.