Acting Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, has a good chance of being re-elected for a second term, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said in an interview with TASS published on January 25.
“Of course, the current secretary general has good chances for re-election, but all the nominated candidates will be considered. Although, given the fact that Guterres proved to be good at the post of general secretary, it is difficult to judge whether there will be many people willing to compete with him, ”he said.
Nebenzya added that he had not heard any fundamental objections to his candidacy.
According to the Russian permanent representative, Guterres has great authority in the world and, despite the fact that “not everyone and not all agree with him,” most countries support his policy.
“So, undoubtedly, he has a large support group,” concluded Nebenzya.
The Secretary General is elected by the UN Security Council and approved by the General Assembly, and his term of office lasts five years, with the possibility of re-election. There are no restrictions on the number of terms, but so far no one has held this position for more than 10 years.
Antonio Guterres has been serving as UN Secretary General since January 1, 2017. He was approved for this position on October 13, 2016. The first term of office of the 71-year-old secretary general expires at the end of this year.
Guterres succeeded Ban Ki-moon, who has held this position since 2007. In addition to Guterres, several representatives of Eastern Europe participated in the elections, including the ex-President of Slovenia Danilo Turk, whom Guterres bypassed in the first round of the UN elections, Gazeta.ru writes.
Previously, Guterres served as Prime Minister of Portugal, and from 2005 to 2015 he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.