Race for the top UN job

In the chaos that is the running theme of the US elections, another election of a world leader is underway, albeit largely unnoticed, on US soil. The process of replacing Ban Ki-moon as the next United Nations Secretary-General is set to be completed this year when he ends his term in office on December 31. He or she will follow an illustrious set of individuals (all men so far), who have undertaken "the famously thankless task" of leading the UN in its 70 years of existence. These include Swedish Dag Hammarskjöld who died mysteriously in a plane crash in Africa in 1961, the famously temperamental Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali who only served one term (1992-1996), and Ghanian Kofi Annan who bluntly denounced the Iraqi war as illegal in 2004 while still serving his term (1997-2006).

Traditionally, the Secretary-General has been "appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council", as provided for in Article 97 of the UN Charter. Barring this declaration, the founding document of the organisation does not provide any further guidelines for the selection process of the UN Secretary-General. Over the years, this has provided leeway for the permanent members of the Security Council known as the P5 (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US) to almost exclusively control the selection process. In theory, member states can present worthy candidates to the presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council respectively for consideration by all member states. These individuals should have "proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations, and strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills". 

The secretive recruitment process for this influential post has been compared to the way papal conclaves are held at the Vatican. This time around, the selection and appointment of the next UN Secretary General is touted to be conducted in the "the most open and transparent manner possible". Candidate profiles are available on the UN webpage including a vision statement outlining their plans for the organisation consisting of 193 member states and two observers, which encompasses 30 agencies, funds and programmes, and 40,000 staff worldwide. They will also participate in public hustings as well as from within the organisation itself. 

However, this does little to change the essentially undemocratic nature of the selection procedure which contradicts greatly the role of the UN as a democracy observer worldwide. The P5 reign supreme over this process as they can veto candidates for the post. Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's run for a second five-year term was famously vetoed by the US in 1996. The candidate recommended by the Security Council is often the product of secret campaigns and backroom dealings and more often than not, is a candidate who has not provoked any of the P5 members, particularly the polarised US and Russia camps, and would not challenge their authority hereafter. This was true of Ban Ki-moon, whose understated leadership style was not effective in the troubled international scene of the past decade, which has experienced the Syrian conflict and Ebola outbreak among other crises. Now more than ever, there is a need for a strong secretary-general who would serve more than the purpose of a symbolic global figurehead and who would lead the organisation in particularly promoting human rights and gender equality worldwide.

One of the more interesting aspects of the race to be the next UN Secretary General is that there was a very strong possibility that it would be a historic opportunity for a woman to finally head the influential international organisation. Half of the candidates to put themselves forward were women – amongst them well-known are Irina Bokova, the Bulgarian director general of UNESCO since 2009; Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and head of UNDP for the past seven years; and Susana Malcorra, current foreign minister of Argentina and former chief of staff to present Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On July 21, the first round of straw polls was held in which the 15 members of the Security Council voted to "encourage", "discourage", or express "no opinion" of the 12 candidates. António Guterres, former Portuguese prime minister and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees until 2015, emerged ahead in the race. Bokova and Clark finished in third and sixth positions respectively. Guterres maintained his lead in the second and third straw polls on August 5 and 29, respectively. The fourth and most recent straw poll, on September 9, further solidified Guterres' lead in the campaign. This stage was the first at which the P5 could exercise their veto power. Guterres could however be subject to a veto by Russia which wishes to see an Eastern European candidate, who could very well be Miroslav Lajcak, the foreign minister of Slovakia, who emerged in second position in the third and fourth straw polls. After the latest poll, Irina Bokova remains the only credible woman candidate with the possibility of becoming the first female UN Secretary-General.

The final outcome of the process may very well be a deal struck behind the closed doors of the Security Council and depend also on the current composition of the rotating non-permanent members (Angola, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela). Nine affirmative votes out of 15 are needed in the Security Council, including all five of the P5, for a candidate to succeed to the post. What could tip the balance is a number of factors, including the readiness of the international community for a female Secretary-General and preference for a candidate from Eastern Europe, the only region which has thus far not produced a Secretary-General (in seeming with the informal rotational system practiced by the UN). Another unusual aspect of the race for UN Secretary-General is that candidates can still put themselves forward for the post and there are significant hopes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel entering the race as a late but strong contender.

As the end of this tumultuous year beckons, the world awaits a break in the glass ceiling – both in the US elections and for the top UN job. The female candidates for both jobs are highly qualified, if not more than their male counterparts, and deserve to win. The world needs equality and strong leadership now.  

The writer is a graduate of the Asian University for Women with a major in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.