New Delhi
3 October 2006
Within an hour of the fourth straw poll, India's nominee Shashi
Tharoor on Tuesday read out a statement to reporters conceding victory to South Korean
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon. If elected, Ban will be the second Asian to hold the post of
United Nations Secretary General, the first being U Thant of Burma who held the office
from 1961 to 71. The final poll is set for October 9. Current Secretary General Kofi
Annan's term expires on December 31.
"I have been humbled by the support, good wishes and prayers that they have conveyed
to me. Although I did not win the race, it is a matter of genuine pride to me that I was
deemed worthy by so many people and won the votes of so many governments,"
Tharoor said.
If Tharoor was stoic in defeat, there were mild celebrations elsewhere. The Chinese
ambassador to the United Nations told reporters outside the Secureity Council chamber
that "it is quite clear from today's straw poll that Ban Ki-Moon is the candidate the
Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly". American Ambassador John
Bolton said his country was happy with the selection and was pressing the Security
Council to wrap up the process process early.
In the fourth straw poll, 62-year-old South Korean Foreign Minister got 14 votes and one
"no opinion", the only candidate to emerge without veto. His nearest rival Tharoor got 10
positive -- two more than the last time -- and three against, one of which was from a
permanent member which in a formal poll would translate into a veto. Technically, there
is still time for the introduction of new candidates but diplomats said it is unlikely with
Ban enjoying strong support among the 15 Security Council members. The diplomats
expressed confidence that election by the General Assembly would be just a formality.
The other candidates in the race are Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, deputy
premier in the ousted Thai government Surakiart Sathirathai, Jordan's UN ambassador
Prince Zeid al-Hussein and Afghanistan's former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. Sri
Lankan's nominee Jayantha Dhanapala had earlier withdrawn from the race.
In all the straw polls, Tharoor had maintained the second position but always had some
negative votes against him. In the first three polls, the poll did not make any distinction
between permanent and non-permanent members but the fourth did make that distinction
and thus candidates for the first time came to know if they had any vetoes against them.
In Tuesday's poll, Sathirathai and Ghani received four votes in favour but Ghani had 11
votes against him including three vetoes. Sathirathai had seven no-votes, among them
two vetoes. The only woman and the only non-Asian candidate, President Vaira Vike-
Freiberga of Latvia, got five votes in favour, six against including two vetoes and four
expressed no opinion.
"I entered the race because of my devotion to the United Nations, and for the same
reason I will strongly support him as the next Secretary-General. The UN, and the world,
has a stake in his success. Throughout this process I have been sustained by my strong
faith in the values and principles of the United Nations, in its achievements and its
potential, and in the quality and dedication of its staff around the world. It has been a
privilege to articulate and defend my vision of this indispensable organisation, to which I
have devoted so much of my professional life," Tharoor said in his statement.
"I should like to express my gratitude to the Government of India for having nominated
me as its official candidate. Though I have never been an official of the government, I
consider it a great honour to have been the bearer of India's nomination, as well as of
the hopes and aspirations of so many well-wishers in India and around the world,"
Tharoor added.
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