After months of speculation, the race to become the next UN Secretary-General has reached the point at which support for the official contenders is being tested where it really counts. Two rounds of straw balloting, in which countries are invited to “encourage” or “discourage” the candidacy of each nominee, have already been held by the Security Council. Another is scheduled for next week. Perhaps surprisingly, at a time when the UN is under pressure to appoint its first woman head and recognise the principle of regional rotation by giving priority to candidates from eastern Europe, the apparent frontrunner is neither a woman nor from eastern Europe. He is Antonio Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal who completed his second term as UN High Commissioner for Refugees last year.
在經歷了數月的猜測之后，聯合國(UN)秘書長的競選已達到這樣一個節點：對正式競選者的支持正在關鍵地方受到考驗。聯合國安理會(UN Security Council)已主持過兩輪意向性投票，即邀請各國選擇“鼓勵”或“不鼓勵”每位被提名人競選。下周還會再安排一次意向性投票。目前，聯合國正面臨著任命首位女性領導人、以及認可地區輪流原則的壓力，后者要求它優先考慮東歐地區的候選人。然而一個也許令人驚異的事實是，目前看上去領先的被提名人卻既不是女性，也不是東歐人。他就是去年剛剛結束了聯合國難民事務高級專員(UN High Commissioner for Refugees)第二任期的葡萄牙前總理安東尼奧?古特雷斯(Antonio Guterres)。