Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has withdrawn from the race to become the next United Nations secretary-general, ending her bid to be the first woman to lead the organisation in its 80-year history. Bachelet, 74, announced her decision on Saturday in a video posted to Instagram, saying the time was not right for "the kind of candidacy" she had sought to represent — one built around multilateralism, international law, climate science, and human rights.
Her exit follows a sharp deterioration in her standing in the Security Council's informal straw polls, the confidential consultations used to gauge support among the body's 15 members before any formal vote. In the most recent poll, held on Friday, Bachelet received just one "encourage" vote, 11 "discourage" votes and three "no opinion" — a steep fall from six encouraging votes in July. Under UN rules, a candidate must secure at least nine votes in favour and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members — the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China — before the nomination proceeds to the General Assembly for final approval.
Sources close to the process had suggested Bachelet faced potential vetoes from both the United States, under the current administration of Donald Trump, and from China, owing to a report she produced as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documenting serious human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang region. Chile's government, led by President José Antonio Kast, noted separately that it had withdrawn its own backing for Bachelet as far back as March, though Brazil and Mexico had continued to support her candidacy until the end.
With Bachelet out, two women now lead the remaining field. Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice-president of Costa Rica who currently heads UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), topped the latest straw poll with nine encouraging votes, followed closely by Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's ambassador to the UN, with eight. Other candidates still in the running include Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; former Senegalese President Macky Sall; and Ecuadorian diplomat María Fernanda Espinosa.
The selection process carries added urgency as the UN faces deep institutional strain. Secretary-General António Guterres, whose term expires on 31 December, has warned of "imminent financial collapse" at the organisation, with $1.57 billion in unpaid member contributions outstanding. The Security Council remains deadlocked on major conflicts including Gaza and Ukraine. World leaders gather in New York next week for the General Assembly's annual high-level debate, opening under the theme "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation" — a challenge that will fall squarely on whoever succeeds Guterres. Despite her withdrawal, Bachelet said she did not regret the campaign: "I will remain active in the urgent task of building a world with more peace, security, sustainable development and respect for human rights."