Michelle Bachelet exits UN chief race after low poll support

Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, has ended her campaign to become the next United Nations secretary-general, announcing the decision in a video posted to Instagram. Bachelet, 74, said she did not regret taking on the challenge but concluded the timing was not right for the type of candidacy she sought to present. Her withdrawal came after the UN Security Council released the results of its third informal straw poll, held on Friday, in which she received one "encourage" vote, 11 "discourage" votes and three "no opinion" votes. That outcome followed earlier informal tallies in which she had secured six encouraging votes in July and two in August. To earn the Security Council's formal recommendation, a candidate must secure at least nine of the council's 15 votes and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members. The latest poll placed Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan, currently head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, in the lead with nine encouraging votes, with Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett close behind on eight. Other nominees still contesting the job include Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, former Senegalese president Macky Sall, and Ecuadorian diplomat Maria Fernanda Espinosa. Bachelet had been nominated by Chile in February with backing from Brazil and Mexico; historically only one Latin American, Peru's Javier Perez de Cuellar, has served as UN secretary-general. The next secretary-general will succeed António Guterres, whose term ends on December 31, and will assume leadership of a UN dealing with deep geopolitical divides and financial pressure. Guterres has warned of an "imminent financial collapse" for the organization, citing $1.57bn in unpaid dues projected by the end of 2025, and has highlighted deadlock at the Security Council on key crises including Gaza and Ukraine.