Next round of straw poll for UN chief selection on August 29

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold next round of straw poll to select the next UN secretary-general on August 29, the council President announced here Friday.

Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, the Malaysian UN ambassador who holds the rotating council president for August, told reporters here that the time for the next round of straw poll was set after consultations in the 15-nation UN body, Xinhua reported.

This will be the third informal poll by the Security Council behind closed doors since July 21, the council did not reveal the result of each round of voting, but the outcome was leaked to the press and diplomats here.

The council members will vote "encourage," "discourage" or "no opinion" about the 11 candidates after former Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic became the first of the 12 contenders to leave the race early this month.

Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Gutterres, former Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic and Irina Bokova, the director general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Slovenia's former president Danilo Turk are among the 11 candidates vying to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the UN secretary-general.

Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the UN General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Before the final decision comes out, several rounds of straw polls would be held among the 15 Security Council members.

Incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is going to conclude his term at the end of 2016. The council's decision to select the top leader of the world organisation shall come later in the fall.

--IANS

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