Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu addressed UN member states on August 19 as one of eight candidates vying to succeed Secretary-General António Guterres when his tenure ends at the close of the year. Otunnu, 75, is among the oldest candidates in the race and warned the UN faces grave risk without meaningful reform. A second informal Security Council poll among the 15 members is scheduled for August 21 to narrow down the field of candidates.
Otunnu's Campaign Focuses on Moral Renewal and Structural Reform
Otunnu, a former UN under-secretary-general who previously served as the body's special representative for children and armed conflict, framed his pitch around moral renewal and structural reform of the United Nations. Drawing on the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, he spoke of the UN's role in healing a world increasingly pulled apart. "Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy," he said.
According to Reuters, beyond the spiritual appeal, Otunnu was direct about the institutional challenges facing the UN, which critics have long accused of running a bloated and costly bureaucracy with significant duplication across its agencies. "Reform is no longer an optional choice. It is an imperative. Without it, the institution is at grave risk. We cannot continue to do business as usual," he said.
Second Straw Poll Scheduled for August 21
At 75, Otunnu is one of the oldest candidates in the race, alongside Ecuadorean diplomat Ivonne Baki, who entered the contest on August 18 and was born several months after him. Denmark, which currently chairs the 15-member UN Security Council, is scheduled to conduct a second informal poll among council members on August 21, continuing the process of identifying a consensus successor to Guterres, who steps down after completing two five-year terms.
An earlier straw poll held at the end of July placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan in a narrow lead, with former Guyanese Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Argentina's Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, close behind. The other candidates in contention include former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, former Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, and former Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Selection Process May Extend Into Late September or Early October
Multiple polling rounds are expected to continue through late September or early October, though the process could extend further if no clear consensus emerges. Any candidate must also avoid a veto from one of the Security Council's five permanent members, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, whose positions on global affairs differ widely. Otunnu's campaign message, inspired by the Prayer of St. Francis, highlights the UN's role in healing divisions, as he continues to press for urgent reform in the succession race.
