Who are the eight candidates running to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN chief?

France24 · 🇫🇷 public France · Aug 21, 2026 · 983 words

International Relations UN Leadership Transition Diplomatic Competition

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What to know about International Relations

France24 reports: Who are the eight candidates running to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN chief?.

Claims checked 30

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

France24 reports: Who are the eight candidates running to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN chief?.

Why it matters

The United Nations Security Council held a second informal straw poll to gauge the popularity of candidates seeking to succeed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term at the end of the year.

Common ground

Eight candidates are currently vying for the position against a backdrop of deep divisions within the organisation.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this International Relations story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Proposed by Burundi, Sall finally got the backing of his own country in July?
How does this story connect International Relations with UN Leadership Transition over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.france24.com/en/who-are-the-eight-candidates-running-to-succeed-anto…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 30 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 20

check_circle Corroborated 6

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Proposed by Burundi, Sall finally got the backing of his own country in July.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “A-Baki, born to Lebanese parents, was instrumental in brokering dialogue between Ecuador and Peru following their brief 1995 border war.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “The former Senegalese president”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “Guyanese ex-foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett narrowly led the second round”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources report that Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana led the second informal straw poll.

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web search NEUTRAL — Guyana’s candidate Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett received the most support from UN Security Council members in the second straw poll of candidates for the post of UN secretary general, according to prelim…
https://tass.com/world/2176307

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web search NEUTRAL — Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, emerged as the top candidate in the second informal straw poll for the selection of the next UN Secretary-Gener…
https://orient.tm/en/posts/103811

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web search NEUTRAL — Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett narrowly led an informal United Nations Security Council poll on Friday to select the next secretary-general, according to diplomats and other sources close to the p…
https://www.kiprinform.com/en/news/guyanas-birkett-leads-sec…

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Claim 5: “She went on to be the UN rights chief”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “Bachelet, 74, has said the UN secretary-general should have the "moral voice" to lead”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “Nominated by Tonga, A-Baki has strong Gulf connections having served as Ecuador's ambassador to Qatar.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Espinosa, a former foreign minister of Ecuador”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “A-Baki, 75, is an Ecuadoran diplomat and politician who represented Quito as ambassador to Washington”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “Sall, 64, is the current chair of the African Union.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 11: “Ecuador's Ivonne A-Baki threw her hat into the race to succeed Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term on December 31, 2026.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results regarding 'Douyin' (TikTok China) account settings and does not mention Ivonne A-Baki or the UN race. No relevant evidence was found for the candidate Ivonne A-Baki.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oct 16, 2025 · 抖音取消企业号变成个人号，需通过企业服务中心操作关闭企业号身份，具体步骤如下：打开抖音APP：确保手机已安装抖音V19.3.0及以上版本（示例为小米12/MIUI 13环境），登录需操作的账号。进入企业服务中心：在抖音首页点击右下角【我】，进入个人主页后，选择右上角【≡】（菜单）或直接找到【企业服务中心】入口（部分版本需通过【设置】-【账号与安全】-【我的认证】跳…
https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/374664821748621612.html

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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 21, 2026 · 00:07 首先需要准备营业执照，其次需要准备好法人的身份证复印件，然后去填写正确的回退承诺函，去巨量引擎跟抖音完成解绑。 00:17 完成以上几个步骤账号就会出现回退个人号的入口或者直接变为个人号。 00:00 点击我的，第一步点击抖音名字。 00:00 第二步找到企业服务，第三步进入市场企业服务中心。您在查找抖音企业号解绑变成个人号的方法吗？抖音综合搜索帮你找…
https://www.douyin.com/search/抖音企业号解绑变成个人号的方法

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web search NEUTRAL — May 13, 2026 · 进入抖音主界面之后，点击右上角的“搜索”，在搜索框输入“企业号小助手”。接着在弹出的见面点击“企业号小助手”头像，进入个人资料界面，然后点击右上角“私信”在输入框中输入“企业号取消认证”，接着企业号小助手会提示用户需要准备的材料，按照提示提交完材料之后，等待企业号小助手审核通过就可以取消企业号了。待企业号取消认证之后，用户可以打开抖音，点击“我”，进入个人信息界面…
https://blog.11467.com/b1977811.htm

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Claim 12: “She is backed by Mexico and Brazil – but Chile withdrew its support after far-right President Jose Antonio Kast took office.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “Antonio Guterres, who will complete his second five-year term at the end of the year.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly state that Antonio Guterres will complete his second term on December 31, 2026. The claim says 'at the end of the year', which is technically imprecise if the current year is not 2026, but the factual basis of the term ending is verified.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A United Nations secretary-general selection was held in October 2016 to choose the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations to succeed Ban Ki-moon from 1 January 2017. Six straw polls were held …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Nations_Secretary-…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in June 2021 to choose the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Incumbent António Guterres was the only official candidate for the position. O…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_Nations_Secretary-…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A United Nations Secretary-General selection is currently being held to choose the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. The current Secretary-General, António Guterres of Portugal, will compl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_Nations_Secretary-…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 14: “Grynspan – Costa Rica's former vice president – leads UNCTAD, the UN's trade and development body”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the 'evidence gathered' section says no evidence found, the Wikipedia entry for Rebeca Grynspan provided in the evidence for Claim 4 explicitly confirms she is the Secretary-General of UNCTAD. Her role as former VP of Costa Rica is widely known, though the specific Wikipedia snippet provided focuses on UNCTAD.

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Claim 15: “In 2022, she pulled off a diplomatic feat by brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny Rebeca Grynspan's role in brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

schedule

Claim 16: “He also served as Uganda's UN envoy, and as his country's foreign minister for a brief period.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 17: “Eight candidates are currently vying for the position”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources explicitly state that eight candidates are in the race to succeed Antonio Guterres.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who, since 2017, has served as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations. A member of the Portu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/António_Guterres

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 18: “The 65-year-old Grossi, an Argentine career diplomat, has led the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 19: “Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan was the front-runner last month when the 15-member Security Council held a first informal vote”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including Reuters, confirm that Rebeca Grynspan was the front-runner in the first informal straw poll.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (born 14 December 1955) is a Costa Rican economist who has served as Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since 2021. She was previously Secretary-General of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebeca_Grynspan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under-Secretary-General_of_the…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 20: “The 70-year-old plays up her personal story as the daughter of Jewish parents who she says "barely survived" the Holocaust before emigrating to Costa Rica.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 21: “Otunnu stood as the presidential candidate for the opposition Uganda People's Congress in the 2011 election, losing to longtime leader Yoweri Museveni, in office since 1986.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 22: “The United Nations Security Council held a second informal straw poll”

CORROBORATED

Multiple news sources (RFI and others) confirm that the UN Security Council held a second informal straw poll to evaluate candidates.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the five permanent members and ten elected, non-permanent members. Being elected requires a two-thirds majority vote from the United Nation…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_United_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242) was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 22 November 1967, in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. It was adopted under Chapter VI …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Counci…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United Nations Security Council veto power is the power of each of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to veto …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Counci…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 23: “Rodrigues-Birkett, the 52-year-old former foreign minister of Guyana, is currently her country's ambassador to the UN.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 24: “Espinosa's candidacy has been backed by Antigua and Barbuda, but not her own country.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 25: “Bachelet became her country's first woman president in 2006.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 26: “Senegalese authorities accuse him of bloodily repressing violent political demonstrations that left dozens dead between 2021 and 2024.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 27: “Chile's Michelle Bachelet is also a candidate, alongside Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Uganda's Olara Otunnu and Senegal's Macky Sall.”

CORROBORATED

Cross-references and web search results confirm that Michelle Bachelet, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Olara Otunnu, and Macky Sall are among the candidates.

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web search NEUTRAL — Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former Ecuadorean foreign and defence minister and former president of the UN General Assembly, received three encourage, six discourage and six no opinion; Michelle Bachele…
https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/world/costa-rica-s-gry…

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web search NEUTRAL — Candidates Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett and Macky Sall participate in the UN Town Hall: The Next S…
https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20260809-sall-s-chances-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Maria Fernanda Espinosa. Espinosa, a former foreign minister of Ecuador, has called the United Nations the only universal platform for handling humanity's common challenges, but also wants deeper refo…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/1080198/who-are-the-candida…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 28: “The 61-year-old, a previous president of the UN General Assembly”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 29: “Argentina's Rafael Mariano Grossi, the current head of the UN nuclear watchdog, came in third”

CORROBORATED

Web sources confirm Rafael Mariano Grossi's role as head of the IAEA and report him placing third in the second straw poll.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including n…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Ag…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rafael Mariano Grossi (born 29 January 1961) is an Argentine diplomat. He has been serving as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 3 December 2019. He was formerly t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Grossi

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 30: “Otunnu, 75, served as UN under-secretary general and special representative for children and armed conflict from 1997 to 2005 under then UN chief Kofi Annan.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.