Former Foreign Minister and current Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, emerged as one of the leading contenders to become the next U.N. secretary-general after placing second in the first informal U.N. Security Council straw poll on Thursday.

Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan led the non-binding vote with 10 “encourage” votes, while Rodrigues-Birkett received nine, ahead of International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi with seven.

Rodrigues-Birkett received two “discourage” votes and four “no opinion” votes, though the ballots do not reveal whether any negative votes came from one of the Security Council’s five veto-wielding permanent members.

Diplomats said Rodrigues-Birkett was the surprise performer of the opening round, with one noting her chances could improve if her “discourage” votes did not come from permanent members.

Multiple rounds of straw polling are expected before the Security Council recommends a successor to Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year term ends this year.