Tharoor nomination: Straw Poll on Secy Gen this week

INDIA’S candidate for the post of UN Secretary General, Shashi Tharoor, will test waters this week.

Starting the process to select a successor to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the Security Council is expected to go in for an informal secret voting on four candidates in the fray for the post, which includes Tharoor. Currently Tharoor is the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

Three others in the fray are Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka, Suraskiart Sathirathai of Thailand and South Korean foreign minister Ban ki-Moon. All four candidates are Asians since this time it is Asia’s turn to give a Secretary General.

Diplomatic sources said this is the first of the series of secret ballots that will be held till the candidate is formally selected by the end of this year.

Termed Straw Poll, the process includes a secret voting for a candidate by SC members on three counts encourage, discourage and no option. Officials said results of the secret ballot would be individually informed to the candidates and also to respective nations a few days later.

Though the poll will enable the Council to determine the support each candidate enjoys among its members, officials said the candidates would be not be forced to withdraw from the contest.

Though India has been a late entrant in the raceand this is for the first time that it has fielded a candidateIndian diplomatic sources were confident that Tharoor would get favorable response from the Security Council.

A seasoned diplomat who has a glorious track record at UN for past few decades, Tharoor himself has been campaigning vigorously eversince India announced his candidature last month. Tharoor visited several countries and also attended the African Summit to push for his candidature.