This opinion essay was first published by PassBlue on 8 May 2025 here.
By Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos and Ben Donaldson, 1 for 8 Billion Steering Committee Members.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe.
Bolivia’s delegation to the United Nations circulated a letter to fellow member states announcing the nomination of the country’s Vice President David Choquehuanca as a candidate to succeed António Guterres as secretary-general of the UN. Guterres’s term finishes on Dec. 31, 2026.
The nomination appears to be an initiative of the Pact of Unity, Bolivia’s largest social and political alliance, representing Indigenous organizations, rural workers and trade unions. It is also a major force within Bolivia’s ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. With MAS hemorrhaging support due to major internal divisions and a huge financial crisis in the country, the party is on the back foot as elections in August 2025 loom large.
Bizarrely, there is no mention of the nomination on the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Still, the nomination was circulated by the Bolivian permanent mission to the UN to all member states. It is on MFA-headed paper, suggesting the nomination has the full backing of the Bolivian government, led by President Luis Arce.
Notwithstanding the peculiarities of this situation, the collaboration between the Pact of Unity — a nonstate entity — and the government to present a candidate demonstrates the potential for creativity in the global search for candidates and is consistent with a recent General Assembly resolution that encourages states to work with civil society and other stakeholders to identify potential candidates.
However, the Bolivian nomination is premature. There can be no candidates officially acknowledged for the position of UN secretary-general until the race begins. This step requires the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council (the monthly rotating seat) to jointly write to all member states soliciting candidates. The letter is expected to be sent in the last quarter of this year. Two things would then need to happen for a candidacy to become official: the candidate must be nominated in a letter to the joint presidents by one or more UN member states; and the joint presidents must then circulate the nomination letter to all member states.
This process was established to much fanfare ahead of the current secretary-general’s first appointment in 2016. It also produced a public shortlist of candidates for the first time in the UN’s history, and it has been the subject of many discussions in the General Assembly since then. So, why is Bolivia jumping the gun? It may be that it is keen to give Choquehuanca — and the causes he espouses — some publicity ahead of time. Or it may be more self-serving, a tactic to boost the international profile of a politician unlikely to secure a role in the next government. If the latter is the case, this would not be the first time a UN member state has attempted to use the UN as a playground for national politics and struggling politicians.
Either way, the episode raises several points relevant to the upcoming race. First, the lack of well-defined rules leaves the respective presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council poorly placed to deal with transitions of power and the changing whims of nominating states. UN member states have an opportunity over the next few months to address this problem. They can do this by introducing clarity around how and when candidacies should be withdrawn.
The 2016 selection process entered murky territory when, toward its conclusion, the Bulgarian government surprised UN member states by entering a second candidate at the last minute, apparently because it was displeased with the performance of the first candidate. The Bulgarian prime minister ended up wishing both candidates “good luck,” and both candidates remained in play during the Council’s subsequent deliberations.
Guidance on withdrawal of candidacies could also be designed to avoid the unedifying 2016 situation in which candidates were included in round after round of straw polls in the Council, despite it having become clear that they had no hope of progressing in the race.
Second, there is an opportunity to enhance standards during the race by requiring nominating states to follow best practice. The 1 for 8 Billion-civil society campaign for an inclusive open selection process believes all candidates should be required to produce a vision statement, participate in public hearings in the General Assembly, interact with civil society and fully disclose all finances associated with their candidature. Participation also helps candidates.
In 2016, those who did not fully participate in informal elements such as civil society town halls seemed to lack momentum and credibility. This last point is even more crucial today, when the UN is at a make-or-break point. A full list of 1 for 8 Billion’s reform proposals is available at www.1for8Billion.org.
Lastly, Bolivia’s choice of candidate is particularly surprising, given the country’s support for the Tegucigalpa Declaration, signed less than a month ago at a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The declaration, which announces the shared conviction to unify around a candidate from the region while lamenting that no woman has ever held the position, was signed by Arce.
For anyone assuming male candidates will be sitting this race out, given the 80-year unbroken spell of male secretaries-general and the abundance of eminently qualified women leaders that could do the job, think again. Beyond the Bolivian, media reports suggest several male candidates in the wings, including Rafael Grossi, secretary-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Vuk Jeremic, a former Serbian foreign minister.
Recent research shows that just under 50 percent of UN member states strongly support appointing a woman SG. Under UN rules, the preferred candidate will be recommended by the Security Council to be appointed by the General Assembly, where all member states have a vote. The numbers favoring a woman SG are well over the 33 percent required to block any candidate deemed inappropriate. But it is unclear how many UN member states would be willing to take such a step.
Bolivia’s early move, while unconventional, underscores the growing interest and maneuvering around the upcoming selection process. It should impel diplomats to firm up procedures for a transparent, credible selection process while minimizing the potential for distractions and political point-scoring. It may also help governments consider more collaborative and inclusive methods to identify candidates, resulting in a more diverse field of potential nominees.
Given the pressing global challenges facing the UN, diverse leadership and new ways of doing business will be vital if the next secretary-general is going to deliver for the world’s 8.2 billion people.