{
  "id": 12742743,
  "title": "Costa Rica’s Grynspan tops informal poll for UN chief",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/costa-ricas-grynspan-tops-informal-poll-for-un-chief-12742743",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T23:27:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/08/costa-rica-s-grynspan-tops-informal-poll-for-un-chief"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan is leading the informal polling for the next United Nations secretary-general, according to a diplomatic source. Grynspan, a former Costa Rican vice-president, is the frontrunner among seven candidates, four women and three men, vying to succeed UN chief Antonio Guterres whose term ends in December 2026. The selection process is complicated by the possibility of a veto from any of the five permanent Security Council members. In a recent poll, Grynspan received nine \"encourage\" ratings, six \"discourage\" ratings, and no \"no opinion\" ratings. This marks her fourth time leading the poll, with her performance slightly weaker than in a previous vote. Behind her in the rankings are Argentine Rafael Grossi, with six \"encourage\" and seven \"discourage\" ratings, and Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who came third. Even if a candidate secures the required nine votes from the Security Council, they must still evade a veto from the five major powers to be confirmed by the General Assembly of all UN members. Tradition dictates that the role should rotate between different regions, so a Latin American candidate, likely Grynspan, is expected to be nominated.",
  "summary": "The latest poll marks the fourth time former vice-president Rebeca Grynspan has emerged as the frontrunner in five rounds held since July.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Costa Rica’s Grynspan tops informal poll for UN chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/costa-ricas-grynspan-tops-informal-poll-for-un-chief",
        "published": "2026-10-07T23:27:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}