UN Chief Candidates Meet in a Televised Debate.

The debate, scheduled for Thursday, July 23, 2026, will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States of America, starting at 5:00 p.m. New York time (11:00 p.m. Kigali time), and will last for 90 minutes.

During the debate, all the candidates will be questioned by diplomats, UN staff and representatives of civil society.

The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, said the debate is a great opportunity to engage and assess the vision of leadership of each candidate. 

“This dialogue provides a great opportunity to exchange ideas, identify priorities and leadership perspectives of each candidate for this position, which is considered one of the most important in the world,” she said.

“In a world that is increasingly fragmented, the United Nations needs not only a unique leader who will bring the Organization into the 21st century, but also a leader who embodies a culture of inclusiveness, who is ready to uphold and maintain the United Nations charter and all of its three pillars,” she added.

The election of the Secretary-General of the United Nations comes at a time when the Organization is facing financial challenges and a loss of confidence from some members, including the administration of US President Donald Trump, who continues to accuse the Organization of waste, self-deprecation and failure to achieve its goals.

The United States has so far urged the organization to focus on one pillar, “peace and security,” but other member states have also stressed that its other two pillars, “human rights” and “development,” are equally important. 

The candidates running for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations are Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador, Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana, and Macky Sall of Senegal.

The 15-nation Security Council is expected to meet in closed-doors on July 30, 2026, to elect their preferred candidate for the position. After that, a second round of voting will be held until one candidate secures nine votes, without a veto from any of the five permanent members.

Once the winning candidate is selected, the UN Security Council will forward him or her to the UN General Assembly for confirmation. If confirmed, he or she is expected to succeed Antonio Guterres on 1 January 2027.