Türk received seven "encourage" votes, six "discourage" votes and two "no opinion" votes. It is not, however, clear whether the "discourage" votes came from permanent Security Council members with the right of veto, as the vote was anonymous.

Antonio Guterres, the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, once again topped the vote, ahead of Miroslav Lajčak, the former Slovak foreign minister, who retained his second place from the last round.

Vuk Jeremić, the former Serbian foreign minister, remains in third place among ten candidates.

A fifth straw poll vote is scheduled for 26 September, after general discussions by world leaders will be held. In October, the UN Security Council is expected to elected the successor to Bank Ki-moon.

Türk said after the vote that he was happy with the improved support and that a core group of candidates for the next voting rounds was slowly emerging.

"Until the next round, several other important discussions related to the candidacy will be held, especially in the week of the UN General Assembly's session. The picture will become much clearer then," he said.