UN Security Council holds straw poll on secretary-general candidates

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday held its first closed-door straw poll voting conducted by its 15 members on the candidates for the next UN secretary-general.

In the non-binding poll, Security Council members are asked in secret ballots whether they "encourage", "discourage" or have "no opinion" on each candidate. The results are not officially released.

A candidate must receive at least nine "encourage" ballots and no "discourage" veto by any of the five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- in order to be recommended by the Security Council and appointed by the UN General Assembly. Zenon Mukongo Ngay, the UN permanent representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of July, said that the next Security Council informal vote will be decided in the coming days and chaired by Denmark which holds the Security Council presidency in August.

"The first round of straw poll has taken place. The candidates will be informed of the results through the respective permanent representatives of nominating member states. The president of the [UN] General Assembly will also be informed that the straw poll has been conducted," Ngay told reporters after the conclusion of the secret vote.

Looking at past cycles, voting will probably run through the summer and finish around late September or early October. The process could drag on even longer if no consensus candidate emerges.

The current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took office in January 2017, and was reelected in 2021. His term ends on December 31 this year. According to the UN Charter, the secretary-general serves a five-year term and is eligible for reelection.

All seven candidates were on the straw poll. They are: Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former UN General Assembly president and former foreign minister and defense minister of Ecuador; Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Rebeca Grynspan, former vice president of Costa Rica and current secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development; Olara Otunnu of Uganda, former UN under-secretary-general; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Guyana's permanent representative to the United Nations, and Macky Sall, former president of Senegal.

UN Security Council holds straw poll on secretary-general candidates

Kumamoto Castle, a landmark of Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, suffered further damage in Tuesday's earthquake, complicating ongoing restoration work after a previous quake 10 years ago.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Kumamoto Prefecture at 16:27 local time on Tuesday. The death toll from the earthquake has risen to 35, the prefectural government said Friday.

Among the affected sites is Kumamoto Castle. Built in the 17th century, the 400-year-old fortress is one of Japan's oldest, grandest and most renowned castles. It was damaged in the 2016 earthquake and suffered additional stone wall collapses in the latest quake.

Visitors on site were shocked by the extent of the destruction.

"It's much more serious than I imagined. I really didn't expect it to be this bad," said a visitor from Kanagawa Prefecture, who came to Kumamoto for the first time.

"Ten years ago during the Kumamoto earthquake, this part collapsed. After repairs, it was partially restored and rebuilt. But this earthquake damaged it again. I'm really sorry and sad for it," a visitor said.

"After seeing it for myself, the collapse looks even more serious than I thought. But I heard that the main structure of Kumamoto Castle is fine. I hope it can continue to be preserved as a symbol of Kumamoto in the future," another visitor said.

A staff member from the Kumamoto Castle Office said that following the 2016 earthquake, full repairs was scheduled to be completed in 2052. The latest damage has created new challenges for the restoration work.

"That's where the collapse occurred during this earthquake. The part on the left collapsed during the quake 10 years ago and still hasn't been fully repaired. We have taken protective measures to prevent further collapse. Next to it is the new collapse caused by the latest earthquake. We are still in the process of assessing the damage. The original plan was to complete all repairs by 2052, which means another 26 years. But after this earthquake, we are still uncertain about how much it will affect the repair process," said Rintaro Mituyasu, a staff member of Kumamoto Castle Office.

Kumamoto's landmark castle damaged in Japan earthquake