UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - An informal poll by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN Secretary-General, two sources close to the process said.
The fifth secret poll by the 15-member Security Council followed days of intense negotiations among diplomats in New York, after past four ballots have not resulted in the emergence of one candidate with overwhelming backing.
Although Grynspan is still leading the pack of seven contenders, the support for her weakened slightly compared to the poll last week, suggesting ongoing gridlock, a result that may prompt other senior figures to join the race.
The selection is taking place at a critical time for the 193-member body. Whoever wins will have to tackle multiple crises, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, cutbacks in American contributions, and the UN's declining political relevance as Washington has pulled out of many of its agencies.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick Zieminski)
