UNITED NATIONS: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon likely to succeed Kofi Annan as U.N. Secretary General after winning informal poll

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon is likely to succeed Kofi Annan as U.N. Secretary-General after cementing his lead in an informal poll on Monday (October 02) with no opposition from the five council powers. Comfortably ahead of his five competitors in the poll, Ban's selection in nearly assured. An official poll is expected to be held on October 9 after which the 192-member U.N. General Assembly must approve the council's recommendation. In second place was Shashi Tharoor, 50, an Indian author and the U.N. undersecretary-general for public information with 10 votes in favour, three against -- one of which was a veto-holding member -- and two "no opinions." Tharoor made it clear he was withdrawing from the race. "I have written to Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to express my warmest congratulations on the outcome of the poll," Tharoor said. "It is clear that he will be our next secretary-general. Tharoor told reporters he would "strongly support" Ban because "the United Nations and the world has a stake in his success." The informal poll was the fourth held since July and the first to distinguish between permanent members and the other 10 nations, elected for two-year terms. Council members marked ballots to "encourage, discourage or express no opinion" as in three previous informal polls. Each member could vote for more than one of the seven candidates. Ban, 62, received 14 votes in favour and one "no opinion" but no negative vote from any of five permanent members with veto power. The five -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- used blue-coloured ballots, while the 10 rotating members used white ones. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton said that although he would not speak about whom he voted for, the U.S. did support Ban. Said Bolton, "Well, I'm not going to comment on our vote, but as I've said to you before, we have a lot of respect for Foreign Minister Ban. We know him well from his service in Washington and here in New York, and think very highly of him professionally and personally." China's U.N. ambassador Wang Guangya said he believed the future of the Secretary-General's office was clear. Said Wang, "It is quite clear from today's vote that Minister Ban Ki-Moon is the candidate the Security Council will recommend. A candidate is required to get at least nine positive votes and no veto from the 15-member U.N. Security Council in the race to succeed Annan, who ends his 10-year term on December 31. Most council ambassadors agreed, especially at the insistence of China, that the next secretary-general should come from Asia because of a tradition that the post rotate among regions of the world. The last Asian secretary-general was Burma's U Thant, in office from 1961-1971.

ITN Source | October 3, 2006

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