Overview
- Rebeca Grynspan led the Security Council’s third informal straw poll on Friday with nine votes while Carolyn Rodrigues‑Birkett had eight and Rafael Grossi fell to five.
- Michelle Bachelet announced on Saturday that she was withdrawing from the race after receiving only one favorable vote in the latest informal poll.
- Straw polls are confidential, nonbinding consultations and a final council recommendation still requires at least nine affirmative votes and no veto by any of the five permanent members.
- The split between the permanent members, with President Donald Trump reported to back Grossi and China signalling a preference for a woman, is the key obstacle to a consensus recommendation.
- Grossi has publicly promoted a ‘do less, better’ reform agenda in The Economist and the latest vote shift raises the prospect of further straw polls, the use of colored ballots to reveal P5 vetoes, or new candidates entering the contest.