The United Nations’ Security Council has finished its fourth non-binding straw poll for the next Secretary-General. The candidate field is being whittled down as French envoy Jerome Bonnafont confirmed Tuesday before a formal recommendation.

The outcome of this new secret ballot is being shared with every candidate through the channels of each candidate’s permanent representative of each of the candidate’s nominating member states,” Bonnafont said in New York, New York, in an interview with the press. He also indicated that the President of the UN General Assembly will be officially informed of the result.

After this fourth round of voting, it is clear that Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan is the top contender, as per multiple diplomatic sources. The outgoing Portuguese U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres, will end his second five-year term on Dec. 31.

The secret straw polls are key tools to gauge members’ support in the Security Council’s 15. The candidate will advance in the race if he gets at least 9 votes in support. The five permanent members of the council (United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom) however, have a veto and they can individually block a nomination.

The Security Council votes and when the consensus is reached, the one person recommended by the Security Council is submitted to the General Assembly for confirmation. This final vote is expected to be a formality.

Eight prominent individuals were originally chosen to be candidates for successor to Guterres. In addition to Grynspan, the list of candidates is a diverse one, including UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana), former Senegalese President Macky Sall, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi.

Other big-time names vying for the top job are Ecuador’s former UN General Assembly president Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, Ugandan politician Olara Otunnu and Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki.