Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Saturday she would not continue her UN secretary-general bid after Friday's third informal Security Council straw poll. Al Jazeera counted 1 encourage, 11 discourage and 3 no-opinion votes for her, and put Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan first with 9 encourage votes. The Straits Times, datelined Santiago, wrote that she announced the withdrawal on 19 September after a poll left her near the bottom of eight candidates, and that Chile's government had withdrawn support in March.
Al Jazeera wrote that Bachelet, 74, announced the withdrawal on Saturday on Instagram after the Security Council's third informal straw poll on Friday gave her 1 encourage vote, 11 discourage votes and 3 no-opinion votes, down from 6 encourage votes in July and 2 in August. The Straits Times said she announced on 19 September that she would not continue, after a straw poll left her near the bottom of eight candidates.[1], [2]
In that poll Al Jazeera put Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan, who heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development, first with 9 encourage votes and Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett second with 8. Bachelet said running had sparked debate that the next secretary-general should be a woman from Latin America.[1]
The Straits Times quoted her video: she had decided not to continue and did not regret the challenge, even if some thought the time was not right. Chile's government said it withdrew support in March and has backed no candidate since, while reaffirming multilateralism and UN reform. The 15-member Security Council had twice put Grynspan ahead, the paper wrote.[2]
