Ban 'set to succeed' Kofi Annan at UN, formal vote on Monday
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon appears set to be confirmed next week as the next UN secretary general after winning a fourth informal poll in the Security Council (UNSC).
But Thai candidate Surakiart Sathirathai will not withdraw despite a major setback in Monday's straw vote. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said yesterday that Surakiart would wait until next Monday before making an announcement on his candidacy. He would continue to lobby members of the UNSC, Kitti said. Surakiart, former deputy premier under the previous administration of Thaksin Shinawatra, received seven "discourage votes" - two of which came from members of the UNSC's permanent five - "four encourage" and four "no opinion" in the straw vote. It was a further setback from the previous week when he received four "discourage" votes. The UNSC is expected to recommend a candidate to replace outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan at the General Assembly on Monday. The 192-nation assembly has never reject-ed a council nominee for UN chief. "It is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-moon is the candidate that the Security Council will recommend," China's UN envoy Wang Guangya told reporters after the informal secret-ballot vote. The career diplomat won the backing of 14 out of 15 UNSC nations, including the five permanent members, to replace the retiring UN chief from Ghana, who steps down on December 31 after 10 years in the UN's top job. "It was sufficiently clear that all members of the council agreed we would move to a formal vote on Monday," UN Ambassador John Bolton said. "The United States is very pleased with the outcome." Bolton said he "would be surprised" if new candidates emerged at this late stage. Ban could not immediately be reached for comment. Monday's crucial informal poll, the fourth since July, was the first to differentiate ballots used by the council's 10 non-permanent members from those of the five veto-wielding permanent members. The UNSC did not release an official tally but Qatari Ambassador Nasser al-Nasser said 14 of the council's 15 members voted in favour of Ban, while the 15th cast a "no opinion" vote. Tharoor got 10 favourable votes. Third was Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the only woman and only European in the field. Former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani and Jordan's Zeid al-Hussein tailed the field.
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