After a single symbolic veto from China to show its support for a Secretary-General from the Third World, Waldheim easily defeated Luis Echeverría Álvarez in the balloting.

The Security Council re-selected Kurt Waldheim as Secretary General for another five-year term beginning 1 January 1977.

As the end of Kurt Waldheim's first term approached, China asked several Third World countries to nominate a competing candidate.

[5] Echeverría maintained a high public profile until the end of his term, contrary to the usual Mexican practice of stepping back to pave the way for his chosen successor, José López Portillo.

[6] On 15 November 1976, Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka announced that he would be willing to serve as Secretary-General if the Security Council voted for him unanimously.

This maneuver would place him in contention as a compromise candidate in case the Security Council deadlocked between Waldheim and Echeverría.