Chile's Bachelet quits race to be next UN chief

SANTIAGO: Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, announced on Saturday that she would withdraw her candidacy for the position of United Nations secretary-general, weeks after a straw poll placed her near the bottom of the eight candidates. In a video posted on her social media, Bachelet explained her decision, stating that "some may believe that the time was not right for a candidacy like the one I sought to represent."

Despite acknowledging that she had taken "a great challenge," Bachelet emphasized that her campaign had helped spark important discussions about the need for a woman from Latin America to lead the UN. During the informal selection process, Costa Rica's former vice president, Rebeca Grynspan, led the polls twice, while Guyana's former foreign minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, led in the third poll.

Initially nominated by the administration of former Chilean President Gabriel Boric in February, Bachelet's candidacy faced challenges after Chile's new far-right President, Jose Antonio Kast, withdrew his support. Bachelet, 74, had been one of only two women to lead the UN in its 80-year history, the other being Peru's Javier Perez de Cuellar, who served from 1982 to 1991.

Under unwritten practice, the top position at the UN typically rotates among geographic regions, with Latin America's turn this time around. With Bachelet's withdrawal, the remaining candidates include four women and three men vying to succeed current UN chief Antonio Guterres of Portugal, whose second five-year term ends on December 31.