Uganda Nominates Olara Otunnu for UN Secretary-General Race

Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu has officially entered the race to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations after being nominated by the Ugandan government.

Otunnu, 75, is the seventh candidate seeking to succeed António Guterres, whose second and final five-year term as UN chief ends on 31 December 2026.

A veteran diplomat, Otunnu previously served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. He has also represented Uganda as its ambassador to the UN and briefly served as the country’s foreign minister. He later contested Uganda’s presidential election as an opposition candidate.

Seven Candidates in the Race

Otunnu joins a growing list of candidates from Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, Guyana, and Senegal, whose former president Macky Sall is also in the running.

Six of the candidates, including four women, took part in a televised debate on Thursday ahead of the selection process.

UN Voting Process Begins

Later this month, the 15-member UN Security Council is expected to hold its first confidential “straw poll” to gauge support for the candidates.

Several rounds of voting may follow until one candidate secures at least nine votes without being vetoed by any of the Security Council’s five permanent members — the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, and Russia.

The successful candidate will then be formally appointed by the UN General Assembly and will assume office on 1 January 2027.