Written by: Teel Lidow
Two weeks ago, the SG election process seemed to officially kick off with a “straw poll,” in which members of the Security Council could anonymously encourage, discourage, or hold no opinion on the candidacy of four major Asian prospects. While no candidate won approval from all members (all had at least one “discourage” vote), Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon and Indian candidate Shashi Tharoor held a clear lead in SC approval ratings.
The straw poll provides a slight insight into the SG selection process, allowing everyone limited access to the opinions of the SC as a whole. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell which of the votes are cast by permanent members with veto powers and which votes are cast by rotating members who lack the veto; as such, even one “discourage” vote could point to defeat for a candidate in the case that the vote came from one of the “P5” (permanent 5). In past elections, votes were cast on different colors of paper, designating whether it originated from P5 or one of the rotating members. While this allowed slightly more transparency, the SG has traditionally been selected from outside of the pool of acknowledged candidates reviewed in the straw poll (and is generally brought in from outside of the UN system at the last moment).
Such a lack of transparency has been a major cause for concern within the UN system, as the lack of information extends even to the members of the General Assembly, who have historically been kept unaware of the front-running candidate until he or she is presented for approval by the Security Council.
