GENEVA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet announced on Saturday that she is withdrawing her candidacy to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, ending a bid that had struggled to gain traction among Security Council members.
Bachelet, 74, announced her decision in a video posted on Instagram, saying, "I will now continue, with the same determination as always, my international work."
The two-time Chilean president and former UN human rights chief had positioned her campaign around defending multilateralism and international law at a time she said both were under sustained pressure.
Bachelet's exit leaves seven candidates in the race to succeed Secretary-General António Guterres, who will conclude his second five-year term on December 31, 2026. It is still possible for more candidates to enter the contest.
Her withdrawal comes just a day after a third informal straw poll, held Friday, showed her support had all but collapsed. The same poll put Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan in the lead.
The UN Security Council will eventually formally recommend a single candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election. The Assembly's approval has long been seen as a formality once the Council reaches consensus.
(Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Oliver Hirt in Zurich, editing by Rachel More and Toby Chopra)
