This can be explained largely by the fact that the decision comes down to the 15 members of the Security Council, who select the candidate to be rubber-stamped by the UN General Assembly (as has occurred in every case so far). Crucially, the Security Council’s five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the US – have veto power, so a majority means nothing if a single member of the P-5 dissents.
联合国秘书长竞选往往低调到令人感到神秘，与美国总统竞选时令人眼花缭乱的景象形成鲜明的对比。个中原因是主要由安理会15国做出决策，他们确定的候选人只需要象征性地提交联大进行批复（至少到目前为止都是如此）。关键是中、法、俄、英、美等安理会五大常任理事国拥有一票否决权，因此只要五巨头中有一个不赞成即使其他国家多数赞成也没有用。