Michelle Bachelet withdraws UN secretary-general bid after Security Council straw poll

Formal withdrawal after straw poll collapse

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet announced on 19 September 2026 that she is ending her campaign to become the next United Nations secretary-general. The decision followed the third informal straw poll held on 18 September among the 15 members of the UN Security Council, where she secured only one favourable vote alongside 11 unfavourable votes and three abstentions. The 74-year-old former head of state saw her standing slide from fourth place in July down to seventh, leaving her in the penultimate spot among declared candidates. Bachelet confirmed her exit in a video published on Instagram, thanking Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for backing her campaign from the first day. She framed the contest as an attempt to defend international institutions under political pressure.

Some will believe that these were not the times for a candidacy like the one I wanted to represent, when the winds blow strong against principles such as multilateralism, against international law permanently transgressed, against the existence of climate change that some deny despite scientific evidence.

Campaign trajectory and domestic resistance

Bachelet's bid was originally sponsored by the Chilean government under former president Gabriel Boric. That official backing ended on 11 March 2026, when newly inaugurated Chilean president Jose Antonio Kast withdrew institutional support after taking office, citing very low prospects of success. Bachelet traveled internationally in subsequent months to meet with government representatives from Security Council member states, though she was unable to schedule a meeting with Donald Trump. Diplomatic observers noted that the United States was widely expected to veto her nomination if she progressed. During a panel discussion in early September 2026, Bachelet acknowledged the mounting headwinds, noting that she did not expect to win the post.

Security Council voting dynamics

The selection process aims to identify a successor to Antonio Guterres, whose term as UN secretary-general concludes at the end of 2026. To secure the recommendation, a candidate must win at least nine votes from the 15-member Security Council and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members. In the informal ballot on 18 September 2026, Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan finished in first place, followed by Guyanese diplomat Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. Other candidates ranked ahead of Bachelet included Olara Otunnu of Uganda, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi of Argentina, and former Senegalese president Macky Sall. Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa placed sixth, leaving Bachelet behind in the field.

Defense of the multilateral bid

Bachelet served as president of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018, later serving as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the executive director of UN Women. In her departure statement, she argued that global democracy and human rights face growing threats, requiring leadership loyal to the UN Charter regardless of state power. She thanked citizens in Chile and abroad who supported her campaign and defended the importance of advancing female leadership from the region.

I do not regret having undertaken this great challenge. We contributed to establishing in the global debate that the next Secretary-General must be a woman from Latin America.

Bachelet concluded by stating that she will remain active in international initiatives focused on peace, security, sustainable development, and human rights.