The UN Security Council is holding an informal confidential vote on Thursday as part of the process to choose the next UN secretary-general. The straw poll will assess member states’ levels of support for seven candidates competing for the post. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will leave office at the end of this year after completing two consecutive five-year terms.

Guterres, a Portuguese national, is due to be succeeded under the established process when his term ends. The seven candidates in contention are from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Senegal and Uganda. The initial informal Security Council vote is known as a straw poll.

Representatives of the Council’s 15 member states will register one of three views on each candidate: encourage, discourage or no opinion. Several rounds of straw polls are usually conducted before a final decision is reached. The process could conclude by late September or early October, although it may take longer if broad consensus cannot be reached around a single acceptable candidate.