The race to succeed António Guterres as the next United Nations Secretary-General has taken a dramatic turn, with Uganda’s veteran diplomat Olara Otunnu leapfrogging several high-profile candidates to secure third place. The shift follows the latest informal straw poll conducted by the Security Council on September 18, 2026, which saw Otunnu’s standing improve despite facing significant headwinds.
According to results released from the closed-door ballot, Otunnu secured five “encourage” votes, seven “discourage” votes, and three “no opinion” votes. While his raw number of positive votes remained static from the previous round in August, his relative position improved because key rivals suffered from higher rates of opposition. The 75-year-old diplomat now sits behind Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, who leads the pack with nine positive votes, and Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who holds eight.
Otunnu’s journey in this race has been one of steady, if cautious, momentum. When the first straw poll was held on July 30, he managed only two “encourage” votes, placing him near the bottom of the field. However, a targeted diplomatic push by Kampala saw his support more than double to five in the August 21 ballot. That momentum has now been sustained, allowing him to tie with Argentina’s Rafael Grossi and former Senegalese President Macky Sall on positive votes, though Otunnu edges ahead of both due to lower disapproval ratings.
The campaign has not been without its high-level maneuvering. Just days before the latest poll, Otunnu was in Moscow on September 14, where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He was accompanied by former Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, who is spearheading the campaign strategy. To win the coveted recommendation, a candidate must secure at least nine votes from the 15-member Security Council and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members. With no candidate yet crossing the nine-vote threshold, the race remains wide open, and Otunnu’s camp will be hoping his upward trajectory continues in the next round of consultations.