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Friday, August 21, 2026
Guyana’s Birkett leads second informal UN chief poll, sources say

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, speaks to the press after meeting with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia, February 8, 2024. (AP Photo)
An informal poll places Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett narrowly ahead in a contest to become the next UN secretary-general, three sources close to the process say.
The poll is the second such “straw poll” after a first round showed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, who would be the first Jewish UN chief, as the early front runner.
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