Portugal’s António Guterres is a ‘clear favourite’ for next UN Secretary-General

Portugal’s António Guterres possibly hold the world’s top diplomatic post, former Prime Minister of Portugal may be the next United Nations Secretary-General following the sixth secret ballot held today by the UN Security Council.

António Guterres, a former Portuguese Prime Minister, has emerged as the favourite to hold the world’s top diplomatic post. Mr. Guterres’ name will be approved after the 6th secret ballot held by the UN Security Council. The 193-Member General Assembly should confirm their choice soon.

This month, an ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia holds the Security Council presidency. The Russian diplomat informed:

“We have a clear favourite and his name is António Guterres.”

The Council meets now (6 October 10 AM) to take a formal vote, the final decision would then be formally submitted to the General Assembly for its consideration. For the first time in a history of the United Nations, the Secretary-General elections wasn’t a closed-door process but involve the public discussions with each candidate campaigning for the world’s top diplomatic post.