Michelle Bachelet withdraws from race to become UN secretary general

Former president of Chile drops out after support collapsed in security council straw poll, leaving seven candidates in contest

Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, has withdrawn her candidacy to become the next secretary general of the ⁠UN, ending an attempt ​that had struggled to gain traction among security council members.

Bachelet, 74, announced ⁠her decision in a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, saying: “I will now continue, with the ⁠same determination as always, my international work.”

The two-time Chilean ​president and former ‌UN human ‌rights chief had positioned her campaign around defending multilateralism and ‌international law at a time when she said both were under sustained pressure.

Bachelet’s exit leaves seven candidates in the race to succeed António Guterres, who will conclude his second five-year term as secretary general on ‌31 December. It is still possible for more candidates to enter the contest.

Her ​withdrawal comes after a third informal straw poll, held on Friday, showed her support had all but collapsed. That same poll put Costa ⁠Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan in the lead.

The UN security ​council ​will formally recommend ​a single candidate to the 193-member general ​assembly for election. ‌The assembly’s ​approval ​has long been seen as a formality once the council reaches consensus.