Ex-Chilean President Bachelet Withdraws Bid To Become Next UN Chief

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 20 (Bernama-dpa) -- Chile’s former president Michelle Bachelet has withdrawn her bid to succeed United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, she said on Saturday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

“Some may believe that this was not the right time for the kind of candidacy I sought to represent,” she said on Instagram.

“I do not regret having undertaken this great challenge. We helped place on the global agenda the conviction that the next Secretary-General should be a woman from Latin America.”

The position has traditionally rotated among the world’s regions, with Latin America next in line.

No woman has ever served as UN Secretary-General.

Bachelet, who was president of Chile from 2006-10 and 2014-18 and then served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for four years, said she would continue her international work.

“I will remain actively engaged in the urgent task of building a world with greater peace, security, sustainable development and respect for human rights.”

Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan received the most support in the latest straw poll among members of the UN Security Council, putting her ahead of the other candidates in the informal vote.

The Security Council will ultimately recommend a candidate who secures the backing of at least nine of its 15 members and is not vetoed by any of the five permanent members.

The candidate is then formally appointed by the UN General Assembly, with approval generally considered a formality.

Guterres is due to step down at the end of the year after serving two terms.

-- BERNAMA-dpa