Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in informal UN chief poll, sources say

By Antoni Slodkowski

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - An informal poll by the United Nations Security Council on Friday showed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan extended her lead as frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN secretary-general, two people close ‌to the process said.

Grynspan got 11 votes in favor and 4 against on the 15-member council, marking her strongest showing in seven closed-door ballots conducted in recent months to replace Antonio Guterres as he finishes his second five-year term this year.

Whoever wins will have to tackle multiple crises, including several wars, cutbacks in US contributions to the ​UN, and the 193-member body's declining political relevance as Washington has pulled out of dozens of its agencies.

Securing the council's recommendation will require a formal vote, expected once one candidate shows a strong chance of prevailing, with at least nine positive votes and no "discourage" votes from the five permanent ​members — France, Britain, the US, Russia and China. Friday's ballot did not show how those five members voted.

Five of six polls in recent months showed Grynspan, 70, narrowly ahead, with one poll in August placing Guyana's UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in the top spot.

On Friday, Rodrigues-Birkett received eight votes in favor, coming in third, while Argentina's Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, came in second with nine "encourage" votes.

Friday also marked the first poll since United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh entered the race, but the Middle Eastern contender and former ambassador to the UN came in fourth with seven votes in favor, six against and two marked as "no opinion."

When Guterres ​was chosen in October 2016, it took six straw polls for the council to reach agreement.

In the more than 80-year history of ​theUN,there has never ​been a female secretary-general.

In an interview earlier this month, the Costa Rican economist told Reuters that the UN has become too risk-averse and its next leader must be prepared to bear the cost of diplomatic failure and to try again.

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Edmund Klamann)