Uganda has put forward veteran diplomat Olara Otunnu as its candidate for the next UN secretary-general, making a last-minute entry into a contest to replace Antonio Guterres when his term ends this year.
Otunnu, 75, arrived in New York this week to meet with UN member delegations and take part in interactive dialogues with both the General Assembly and the Security Council, according to Uganda’s UN ambassador Adonia Ayebare.
The nomination adds a well-known dark horse to a field of six other candidates. Ayebare noted that Otunnu required visa support because current US entry restrictions related to Ebola have barred Ugandan passport holders.
Otunnu is a longtime UN figure. He retired from international service after running unsuccessfully for president of Uganda in 2011.
His candidacy comes as diplomatic chatter grows around an informal expectation that the next secretary-general should come from Latin America, which could complicate his path.
With the selection process already underway, Uganda’s late backing shifts attention to Otunnu’s decades of UN experience and his pitch to member states in the final stretch of campaigning.
