Through early April, three ambassadors to the WTO have been quietly surveying their peers, trying to gauge the depth and breadth of support for, and the strength of the opposition to, each of the four candidates for WTO Director-General.
They finished their survey today (Wednesday, April 13). Now they'll think it over for a couple of days, and then they will try to decide which of the four has the least, and weakest, support, which faces the strongest opposition. Once they give their opinion, one of the candidates will be expected to withdraw.
Richard Waddington reports for Reuters: WTO Heads For First "Conclave" (April 14).
"...The decision on who falls at the first hurdle is complicated by the fact the selection panel, which also includes Canadian ambassador Don Stephenson and Norway's Eiric Glenne [as well as Kenyan ambassador, and General Council Chair, Amina Mohamed - Ben], cannot simply tot up votes.
Because the aim is to find a consensus candidate, they must also take account of how widely support is spread across the various regions and how much opposition a candidate faces..."
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