UNESCO: Election of new UNESCO chief heads towards showdown

A fourth round of voting will be held on Monday to try to select the next head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after none of the candidates for the post were able to obtain a majority of ballots yesterday.

The candidates from Benin, Lithuania, Russian and Tanzania withdrew from the race to be Director-General before yesterday''s third round vote, leaving five names on the ballot slated for 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in Paris, UNESCO said on its website.

The remaining candidates are: Algeria''s Mohammed Bedjaoui European Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Austria) Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny Bulgarian former foreign minister Irina Gueorguieva Bokova and Ivonne Juez de A. Baki of Ecuador.

Earlier this week, the agency''s 58-member Executive Board interviewed all nine candidates and then discussed those interviews in a private meeting. Voting is by secret ballot and a winner is chosen by a simple majority of the board.

The person elected will serve an initial four-year term. The current Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, ends his second term in November and is not eligible for another stint.

Source: UN

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