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STORY: UN / PGA ELECTION
TRT: 05:06
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 02 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
02 JUNE 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
3. Various shots, ballot distribution
4. Various shots, ballot collection
5. Med shot, officials at GA dais
6. UPSOUND (English) Annalena Baerbock, President 80th General Assembly, United Nations:
“Number of votes obtained, Khalilur Rahman Bangladesh, 99; Andreas Kakouris, Cyprus, 91.”
7. Various shots, delegates applauding
8. Wide shot, GA
9. UPSOUND (English) Annalena Baerbock, President 80th General Assembly, United Nations:
“Having obtained the required majority, His Excellency Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh has been elected President of the General Assembly at its 81st session.”
10. Wide shot, the President elect of the 81st General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, saluting
11. Wide shot, GA
12. Med shot, Rahman
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, President 80th General Assembly, United Nations:
“Our United Nations, our House of diplomacy is facing not only headwinds, but immense pressure. The role of the President of the General Assembly is no longer simply procedural, reading out notes, because even in the procedural rules themselves, they are being challenged, as we have experienced many times before. The role, therefore, and indeed that of the wider General Assembly, has to be evolved in an era where consensus is no longer a given.”
14. Wide shot, GA
15. Various shots, Rahman walks up to GA rostrum
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Khalilur Rahman, President, 81st General Assembly, United Nations:
“I would like to express my deep appreciation to the member States of the United Nations for the trust and confidence they have reposed in me. I accept the position of the President of the 81st session with humility and respect.”
17. Med shot, delegates
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Khalilur Rahman, President, 81st General Assembly, United Nations:
“The UN will commence its 99th decade at a time when trust in our organisation is being tested on multiple fronts. Scourges of conflict and war, from which our organisation aimed to save our succeeding generations, continue to inflict untold sufferings. Development gains remain fragile and uncertain, and in some cases are regressing. Despite advancements in human rights, we witnessed a general backsliding of certain rights and freedoms across the world and shrinking humanitarian space. All this is happening at a time when multilateralism has come under increasing pressure, and our organisation faces financial stress.”
19. Wide shot, Rahman at the rostrum
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Khalilur Rahman, President, 81st General Assembly, United Nations:
“We must collectively demonstrate that the UN can adopt reform and better deliver and justify every penny Member States - all of you - contribute in order to restore trust in our organisation.”
21. Various shots, delegates applauding
22. Various shots, Rahman being congratulated by Secretary-General António Guterres and PGA Baerbock
23. Wide shot, Guterres walks up to rostrum
24. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Pact for the Future and the UN80 initiative represent a blueprint for action, solutions, and bold reforms to carry our organisation into the future. And the work of this Assembly is critical to bringing these commitments to life and delivering real solutions and results that can renew the world's face in the work we do here.”
25. Wide shot, Guterres walks away
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Khalilur Rahman, President, 81st General Assembly, United Nations:
“A principal way to advance public trust in our organisation is to tell our success stories to the peoples of the United Nations. The UN Press Corps is the best vehicle to accomplish this task. To this end, I intend to work closely with you, and this is my commitment. My doors will be open, and I will reach out to you. I will set up an effective communication team which will remain in constant contact with you throughout my presidency.”
27. Zoom out, Rahman walks away
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected President of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session today (2 Jun) after defeating Andreas Kakouris of Cyprus in a closely contested vote, positioning himself to steer the world body through a pivotal year marked by intensifying global crises, UN reform efforts, and major leadership transitions.
In a secret-ballot election, Rahman secured 99 votes to Kakouris’s 91. A total of 190 ballots were cast, with no invalid votes or abstentions.
The election comes amid what the current General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock described as “not only headwinds, but immense pressure.”
Addressing Member States after the vote, Baerbock said, “the role of the President of the General Assembly is no longer simply procedural, reading out notes, because even in the procedural rules themselves, they are being challenged, as we have experienced many times before. The role, therefore, and indeed that of the wider General Assembly, has to be evolved in an era where consensus is no longer a given.”
Rahman brings more than four decades of diplomatic and multilateral experience to the role. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister since February, he previously served as National Security Adviser and High Representative on the Rohingya Issue. A career diplomat, he joined Bangladesh’s foreign service in 1979. He also held senior UN positions in New York and Geneva.
Accepting the position, Rahman expressed “deep appreciation to the member States of the United Nations for the trust and confidence they have reposed in me.”
He said, “the UN will commence its 9th decade at a time when trust in our organisation is being tested on multiple fronts. Scourges of conflict and war, from which our organisation aimed to save our succeeding generations, continue to inflict untold sufferings. Development gains remain fragile and uncertain, and in some cases are regressing. Despite advancements in human rights, we witnessed a general backsliding of certain rights and freedoms across the world and shrinking humanitarian space. All this is happening at a time when multilateralism has come under increasing pressure, and our organisation faces financial stress.”
The President-elect said, “we must collectively demonstrate that the UN can adopt reform and better deliver and justify every penny Member States - all of you - contribute in order to restore trust in our organisation.”
Rahman said his presidency would focus on six broad priorities: peace and security; accelerating progress on the SDGs; climate action and environmental protection; human rights; governance of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and UN reform.
Drawing on Bangladesh's experience in peacekeeping, he pledged to support preventive diplomacy, peacebuilding, and civilian protection.
He also highlighted the need to address development financing gaps, advance implementation of the Global Digital Compact and strengthen the UN’s effectiveness at a time of growing pressure on multilateral institutions.
Rahman presidency will coincide with one of the most consequential processes on the UN calendar: the selection of Secretary-General António Guterres’s successor, whose term ends on 31 December 2026.
Guterres told the Assembly that “the Pact for the Future and the UN80 initiative represent a blueprint for action, solutions, and bold reforms to carry our organisation into the future. And the work of this Assembly is critical to bringing these commitments to life and delivering real solutions and results that can renew the world's face in the work we do here.”
Talking to reporters outside the GA Hall, Rahman said, “a principal way to advance public trust in our organisation is to tell our success stories to the peoples of the United Nations. The UN Press Corps is the best vehicle to accomplish this task. To this end, I intend to work closely with you, and this is my commitment. My doors will be open, and I will reach out to you. I will set up an effective communication team which will remain in constant contact with you throughout my presidency.”
The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, bringing together all 193 Member States, each with one vote. While its resolutions are generally not legally binding, the Assembly serves as the principal forum for international deliberation on peace and security, development, human rights, and international law.
The 81st session will open on 8 September, with world leaders gathering two weeks later for the annual high-level debate at UN Headquarters, in New York.
The new President-elect’s theme is an inspiring call to action for the multilateral system — “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.”
