Jeremić places second, Guterres heads up the United Nations

Jeremić places second, Guterres heads up the United Nations

The Serbian candidate Vuk Jeremić remained in second place with eight “Encourage” ballots, of which three were cast by permanent members of the UN Security Council, five “Discourage” votes, of which two were cast by permanent members the UNSC, and two “No opinion” votes.

The news about the Portuguese candidate succeeding Ban Ki-moon was announced also by Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, and Guterres made a statement, as well.

“An agreement has been reached, the members of the UN Security Council have elected me as the new secretary-general of the UN. I am happy and honored,” Guterres wrote on Twitter.

In third place in the last informal straw poll is the Slovakian candidate Miroslav Lajčák with seven “Encourage,” six “Discourage,” and two “No opinion” votes.

Jeremić congratulated Guterres and said that the organization secured a reliable and experienced leader by electing him.

“I think we have reason to be proud of our result in the race for the topmost post in international relations – second place in the world, and first in the East European group. I believe that this is a far better outcome than what many predicted and that we made a significant contribution to improving the visibility and reputation of our country,” Jeremić said.

B92 also got a hold of the summary tally sheet from all the polls, which again shows Jeremić coming in second place.

In the six poll rounds, former Serbian foreign minister got 48 “Encourage,” 30 “Discourage,” and 12 “No opinion” votes. Guterres reached the leading position with 71 “Encourage,” nine “Discourage,” and ten “No opinion” ballots.

Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák came in third (43-30-12), while the Bulgarian candidate Irina Bokova placed one spot behind (43-35-12), although she was replaced before the last round of straw polls by Kristalina Georgieva (5-8-2).

Among the top five was also the Slovenian candidate Danilo Türk (42-34-14), followed by Susana Malcorra (41-38-11), Srgjan Kerim (40-44-6), Helen Clark (38-45-7), Natalia Gherman (18-59-13), Christiana Figueres (17-35-8), Igor Lukšić (5-16-9), and Vesna Pusić (2-11-2).