Ecuadoran former foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa has become the fifth candidate to enter the race for the next head of the United Nations, the UN General Assembly spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday.
Espinosa was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda, and joins four other candidates already nominated to succeed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who stands down at the end of the year.
"We received materials from Antigua and Barbuda yesterday (Monday) afternoon," said the spokesperson, La Neice Collins.
The Ecuadoran, who was also her nation's defense minister, served as president of the General Assembly from September 2018 to September 2019.
The other contenders to become the next UN chief are Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal's Macky Sall.
Those four were publicly interviewed by member states in April, and any new candidate will also undergo this process.
Following a tradition of geographical rotation that is not always observed, Latin America is in line to provide the next UN chief.
Many states are also advocating for a woman to hold the position for the first time.
The General Assembly, where all UN member states are represented, elects the secretary-general for a five-year term, renewable once.
But they can only do so on the recommendation of the UN's highest decision-making body, the Security Council, which is due to begin its selection process by the end of July.
Particular power rests with the council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France -- which each can veto decisions.
Whoever is selected for secretary-general will begin their term on January 1, 2027.
