From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 16, 2026
Costa Rica’s Grynspan holds narrow lead in race to become next UN chief, as all contenders receive veto in latest straw poll
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An informal poll by the UN Security Council places former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN secretary-general, two sources close to the process say.
Grynspan, the daughter of two Jewish refugees who fled the Second World War, has maintained a fairly consistent lead in the straw polls.
A diplomat says that Grynspan and the other six candidates to lead the United Nations all received a vote of “discourage,” effectively a veto, from a permanent UN Security Council member in the latest informal poll.
The vote is the first time in six rounds of informal straw polling that Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States anonymously use colored straws to indicate vetoes, while the 10 elected members continue to use plain markers.
The Times of Israel Community.