Bachelet withdraws her UN bid after the third Security Council straw poll

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced on Saturday that she is withdrawing her bid for the United Nations Secretary-General position. She stated that leadership involves knowing when to step aside for the process to run its course, and the Security Council straw polls results indicated it was time to do so. Bachelet cited strong opposition to principles like multilateralism and international law that are frequently violated as reasons for her decision.

She expressed no regret for taking on this challenge, as it helped put the issue of a woman from Latin America as the next Secretary-General on the global agenda. The Security Council's informal, non-binding consultations involve the 15 members, who can encourage, discourage or express no opinion. The results often leak to the press.

In the most recent round, Bachelet received one "encourage," eleven "discourage" and three "no opinion" votes, the highest level of discouragement she had received. The five permanent members must then agree on a recommendation to the General Assembly, with each holding a veto. Bachelet, 74, previously served as Chile's president from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018.

She was also the first director of UN Women from 2011 to 2013 and the High Commissioner for Human Rights from September 2018 to June 2022. Her candidacy was presented by then President Gabriel Boric in February with the goal of being the first woman to lead the UN and the second person from Latin America to hold the position. Chile's foreign ministry withdrew its sponsorship of Bachelet's bid, citing the dispersion of candidates in the region impacting their chances of success. Bachelet retains the support of Mexico and Brazil.