Macedonia

Ahead of Crucial UNHRC Vote, Sri Lankan President Dials Up Modi

The resolution, which calls for strengthening the collection and preservation of evidence related to human rights violations in Sri Lanka, also says that the country will be on UNHRC’s agenda every six months till September 2022.

New Delhi: Ahead of a vote on a resolution on Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to review, among other things, “cooperation” in “multilateral forums”.

On Friday, the final form of the Sri Lanka draft resolution was submitted, with the voting likely to be held on March 22-23.

The draft resolution, sponsored by United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, was formally submitted on March 12. The zero draft which had earlier been circulated was further strengthened during the consultations between the member states.

The changes in the final version inserts language calling on Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitment on devolution, including the holding of provincial council elections.

The draft resolution also calls upon Colombo to ensure that “all provincial councils, including the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils, are able to operate effectively, in accordance with the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka”.

The 13th amendment is a product of the 1987 India-Sri Lanka accord, which calls for devolution of powers to provincial council. India has been calling for full implementation of the 13th amendment at various platform, including when Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India in February.

As The Wire had reported, India’s statement at an interactive discussion on the UN human rights chief’s report on Sri Lanka had signaled that New Delhi was not happy with Colombo. The Indian representative had also called for the “full implementation” of the 13th constitutional amendment.

India has also been annoyed with Sri Lanka refusing to honour the trilateral memorandum of cooperation signed last year for development of Colombo port’s East Container Terminal.

The UNHRC draft resolution noted the “persistent lack of accountability of domestic mechanisms” and calls to support trials in foreign countries. It also calls for strengthening the office of the UN human rights chief in collecting and preserving evidence related to human rights violations in Sri Lanka, to use them in future accountability processes.

The draft has been revised to state that Sri Lanka would be on UNHRC’s agenda every six months till September 2022. It also asks the UN Human Rights chief to give an oral update on Sri Lankan in September 2021 and then a written report in March 2022.

According to sources, the phone call was initiated by the Sri Lankan side. There was also discussion on the UNHRC draft resolution, which Sri Lanka has urged all countries to reject at the time of voting.

The official read-out of the phone call from the Indian ministry of external affairs stated that the “leaders reviewed topical developments and the ongoing cooperation between both countries in bilateral and multilateral forums”.

The short press release stated that the Indian PM reiterated Sri Lanka’s importance to India’s neighbourhood first policy. “They agreed to maintain regular contact between relevant officials, including in the context of the continuing COVID-19 challenges,” said the press release

Macedonia’s Name Change Dispute Dominates Presidential Elections

The change, which Greece demanded to end an implied territorial claim on its northern province also called Macedonia, resolves a decades-old dispute and opens the door to Macedonian membership of NATO and the European Union.

Skopje: Macedonia’s pro-Western candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova emerged tied in the first round of presidential vote dominated by deep divisions over a change of the country’s name to North Macedonia under a deal with Greece.

The change, which Greece demanded to end what it called an implied territorial claim on its northern province also called Macedonia, resolves a decades-old dispute and opens the door to Macedonian membership of NATO and the European Union.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for Sunday’s election, in which about 1.8 million voters were able to choose among three candidates.

Results on the State Election Commission website based on 98% of the votes counted showed Pendarovski got 42.7 of the votes, while Siljanovska-Davkova had 42.5% of the votes.

People pass over the stone bridge in Skopje, North Macedonia April 19, 2019.
Credit: Reuters

The two will face a run-off on May 5, reflecting differences over the deal pushed through by the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Blerim Reka, candidate of the second largest Albanian party came third with 10.4% of the votes.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT). The State election commission put turnout at 41.9%.

Both Zaev’s Social Democrats, and opposition VMRO-DPMNE proclaimed victory.

Also Read: Macedonian Parliament Approves Country’s Name Change

“I am convinced that in the second round we will have a European president of our state,” Zaev told journalists late on Sunday.

This election is about voting to move the country forward, he said.

“We won,” said Hristijan Mickoski leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE which supported Siljanovska-Davkova. VMRO-DPMNE opposed the deal with Greece.

A woman passes election campaign posters of the ruling party candidate Stevo Pendarovski for the presidential election on April 21 in Skopje, North Macedonia April 19, 2019. Credit: Reuters

Analysts said the low turnout was down to disillusion among voters at the government’s lack of progress in attracting foreign investment and tackling high unemployment.

“We need a new and better president, a nation’s father that will help move this country forward,” said Sonja Kjurcieva, a 49-year old housewife from Skopje.

“Together with the government, they will bring us closer to Europe.”

The presidency has no authority to block constitutional amendments that were passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament to enable the name change.

Shaping the future

Pendarovksi said the vote will be for how the country’s future will be shaped rather than a choice of president.

“I expect to win the elections and be the first woman president of Macedonia,” Siljanovska-Davkova said after casting her vote.

“I am a professor of European law, so I’ll respect (the agreement with Greece),” she said. “But I’ll do my best to show that some of the solutions are against our constitution.”

A woman cleans her balcony next to an election campaign poster of the opposition presidential candidate Gordana Dafkova-Siljanovska for the presidential election on April 21 in Skopje, North Macedonia April 19, 2019.
Credit: Reuters

The presidency of the former Yugoslav republic is a mostly ceremonial post, but acts as the supreme commander of the armed forces and signs off on parliamentary legislation.

The refusal of outgoing nationalist President Gjeorge Ivanov to sign some bills passed by parliament has delayed the implementation of some key laws, including one on the wider use of the Albanian language – 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed Macedonia to the brink of civil war.

(Reuters)

Macedonian Parliament Approves Country’s Name Change

The move could unblock its bids to join NATO and the European Union, long blocked by Greece, which argues that “Macedonia” implied territorial claims to a Greek province of the same name.

Skopje: Macedonia’s parliament on Friday approved a proposal to change the country’s name, bringing a decades-old dispute with Greece one step closer to being resolved.

A total of 80 deputies in the 120-seat parliament voted in favour of renaming the Balkan country Republic of North Macedonia – just reaching the two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutional changes.

The move could unblock its bids to join NATO and the European Union, long blocked by Greece, which argues that “Macedonia” implied territorial claims to a Greek province of the same name.

The two countries reached agreement on the name change in June.

But hurdles remain before the change can be formalised.

A referendum on the agreement failed to pass the turnout threshold of 50%, leaving it up to the Skopje parliament to settle the issue.

Also Read: Macedonia: EU Should Stop Accession Process to Break Deadlock

The procedure to complete constitutional changes is lengthy and requires several rounds of voting, with Friday’s being just the first stage. The procedure should be completed by January at the latest.

“Today is a historic day for the country,” Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said.

“Macedonia will be part of the European family our dreams and visions for better life in a better country will be fulfilled.”

Once Macedonia formally changes the constitution, the Greek parliament will also have to vote on the deal.

Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, who heads a small right-wing party that props up the government in the legislature, has threatened to quit the coalition if the Greek vote goes ahead.

“A great day for democracy in Skopje,” Johannes Hahn, the EU’s commissioner in charge of enlargement, wrote on his Twitter account.

I congratulate all those who decided to walk on along the EU path.”

(Reuters)

Greek Prime Minister Survives No-Confidence Vote in Parliament

Surviving the no-confidence motion sets the stage for the signing of an accord with Macedonia. The accord involves Greece lifting objections to the renamed nation joining EU and NATO.

Athens: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Saturday, setting the stage for the signing of a historic accord with neighbouring Macedonia to settle a long dispute over the latter’s name.

The motion brought by the opposition New Democracy party was rejected by 153 MPs, with 127 in favour. Political opponents had accused Tsipras of making too many concessions over the deal, due to be signed on Sunday.

Thousands of Greeks protested outside parliament against the accord with Macedonia, calling for Tsipras to resign. Police used stun grenades and tear gas to prevent them from entering the building.

“This is a deal I believe that every Greek prime minister would want,” Tsipras told the chamber earlier.

Had he lost, the leftist elected in 2015 would have had to relinquish his mandate to the country’s president, signalling early elections. He is already trailing centre-right New Democracy in opinion polls.

Greece had been in dispute with Macedonia since 1991 over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, arguing it could imply territorial claims over the Greek province of Macedonia and an appropriation of ancient Greek culture and civilisation.

The subject is a deeply emotional one for many Greeks. On Saturday, protesters outside the parliament building shouted “traitor, traitor!” as lawmakers debated inside.

“I’m just furious,” said Theologos Ambotis, 69, a monk. “Conceding on the name is conceding on territory. Macedonia and Alexander the Great is Greek history and culture, and they are just giving it away to Skopje.”

Protesters take part in a demonstration against the agreement reached by Greece and Macedonia to resolve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, in Athens, Greece, June 16, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Costas Baltas

Under the terms of the accord, the country will be known as “Republic of North Macedonia” and Greece will lift its objections to the renamed nation joining EU and NATO.

Accord to be signed

Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov will sign the pact in the border lake region of Prespes on Sunday morning. Tsipras and Macedonian premier Zoran Zaev will also be present.

It will require ratification by both national parliaments and approval in a Macedonian referendum, which is not assured.

The president of Macedonia has said he will not endorse the pact, while in Greece, Tsipras’s right-wing coalition partners have said their lawmakers will reject it when it is brought for ratification. That is expected to occur by the end of the year.

Protests were scheduled on both sides of the border on Sunday.

One lawmaker with the right-wing Independent Greeks, Tsipras’s coalition partner, sided with New Democracy on the motion, bringing applause from opposition politicians. He was promptly expelled by the party’s leader.

The expulsion brings Tsipras’s majority in parliament to 153 MPs out of a total in the chamber of 300.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the accord an affront, and the Tsipras government a ‘nightmare’.

“This government should go before it does more damage, this time national damage,” he said.

(Reuters)

Macedonian Government Survives Vote of No Confidence

The opposition party questioned the current Macedonian government’s ability to hold executive power, but the motion was defeated by a 62-40 margin.

The Macedonian government on Wednesday survived a parliamentary vote of no-confidence brought by the opposition Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) party over its handling of relations with Greece and Bulgaria.

Debate on the motion brought by the VMRO-DPMNE, the largest single party in the parliament, began on the morning of April 11th. The vote was seen as a test for Prime Minister Zaev’s reform agenda and policy of improving relations with the two neighbours as a step to joining the European Union and NATO. 62 deputies in the 120-seat parliament voted against the no-confidence motion, while 40 were in favour.

Macedonia declared independence in 1991 and avoided the other wars that rocked the former Yugoslavia. However, an insurgency by its large ethnic Albanian minority nearly tore the country apart in 2001.The country of 2 million has made little progress towards EU and NATO membership due to the dispute with Greece.

Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic’s use of the name Macedonia, arguing that it could imply territorial claims over its own northern region of the same name.

The main nationalist opposition party accused the government of lacking a clear strategy in its talks with Greece to resolve a dispute that has lingered since 1991, over the country’s name. They also said that the friendship agreement, ratified in January, with Bulgaria was harmful.

The opposition has accused Zaev of reneging on election pledges to improve the economy, reform the judiciary and secure media freedom.

VMRO-DPMNE has returned to parliament after a boycott that began in December 2017, when five of its MPs were arrested over last year’s clashes between nationalist protesters and deputies in parliament in which Zaev was injured.

Its presence is key for the passage of laws including one on judiciary reform that is a pre-condition for EU accession and requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

“Zaev, you are leading the most inefficient and unworkable government in the history of our country,” Dragan Danev, the VMRO-DPMNE’s parliamentary coordinator, told deputies.

“It’s not only me talking or my party, it’s the perception of the people. This government has shown that it does not have the capacity to hold executive power,” he said.

Zaev’s government took office last May ending a two-year political crisis that brought down a VMRO-DPMNE government.

Macedonia: EU Should Stop Accession Process to Break Deadlock

The EU should consider halting its accession process in order to break a dangerous deadlock in Macedonia as the nationalists are refusing to relinquish power.

A woman sings Macedonian national anthem during the demonstrations in front of the EU Info Center building in Skopje, Macedonia, April 28, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Stoyan Nenov

Belgrade: Nationalists in Macedonia are “playing with fire” in refusing to relinquish power and the European Union should consider halting its accession process in order to break a dangerous deadlock, said the former envoy who helped avert civil war in the Balkan country.

A long-running political crisis in the former Yugoslav republic turned violent on Thursday when supporters of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, some in balaclavas, stormed parliament after a new majority in the assembly elected an ethnic Albanian as speaker, a first step towards replacing the nationalist-led government.

The events, in which one ethnic Albanian MP was brutally beaten and several other deputies left bloodied, raised fears that the political crisis was spiralling out of control and may plunge the country back into ethnic conflict 16 years after Western diplomacy averted full-blown civil war.

The nationalists of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski are blocking the formation of a new government led by the opposition Social Democrats, accusing them of doing a deal with the country’s ethnic Albanian minority that risked tearing the country apart by allowing wider official use of the Albanian language.

Pieter Feith, who as NATO’s Balkans troubleshooter at the turn of the century helped negotiate a peace deal to end months of clashes between Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas in 2001, warned of further escalation.

The nationalists, he said, “are playing with fire. The next step I could imagine, but God forbid, if arms are going to be handed out and circulated as they were in 2001, you are quickly on the abyss of civil war,” Feith told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Friday.

Feith also served as an EU envoy in the region and is currently a senior diplomatic adviser at the European Institute of Peace, which supports EU mediation and conflict-resolution efforts.

The Dutch diplomat suggested the EU, which has lost diplomatic leverage across the Balkans due to an increasingly apparent reluctance to expand further into the region, was considering sanctions.

“There is also perhaps room for sanctions, some form of travel ban or financial measures directed specifically against the leadership of VMRO,” Feith said.

Asked if he was advocating sanctions or if they were being considered by the EU, Feith replied: “I think the latter.”

‘Draw a line’

A spokeswoman for the EU could not immediately be reached for comment, but German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel also hinted at possible punishment, telling reporters in Malta: “We are sending clear signals … but of course there a lot of other measures which we hope don’t have to be launched.”

The EU’s leverage in Macedonia and across the Balkans has been diminished by the bloc’s waning enthusiasm for enlargement, the promise of which had helped stabilise and reform the region after the bloody breakup of socialist Yugoslavia.

Feith said Gruevski’s nationalists were “simply not listening.”

“Are we going to continue this charade or are we going to draw a line and say that the accession process has ended or is about to end? That’s the question that I think needs to be faced,” he said.

Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev, who heads the new parliamentary majority and was hurt during Thursday’s violence, said on Friday he expected the new speaker, former guerrilla Talat Xhaferi, to assume his duties and notify the president of the new majority.

President Gjorge Ivanov, an ally of Gruevski, has so far refused to give Zaev the mandate to form a government.

The VMRO narrowly won a snap election in December, held under a deal to end two years of political crisis triggered by a wiretap scandal that appeared to expose widespread abuse of office.

But Gruevski, who was accused by critics of becoming increasingly autocratic during a decade in power, failed to revive a coalition deal with the largest ethnic Albanian party, which threw its support behind Zaev instead.

(Reuters)

Macedonia: Protesters Storm Parliament After Albanian Elected as Speaker

Police said eight people including an ethnic Albanian lawmaker were injured in Thursday’s violence.

Protesters entered Macedonia’s parliament after the governing Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties voted to elect an Albanian as parliament speaker in Skopje. Macedonia April 27, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Ognen Teofilovski

Skopje: Macedonian police fired stun grenades on Thursday evening to disperse protesters outside the parliament and clear the way for the evacuation of lawmakers still in the building.

Protesters stormed into Macedonia’s parliament and assaulted the leader of the Social Democrats on Thursday after his party and ethnic Albanian allies voted to elect an Albanian as parliament speaker, witnesses said.

Live television footage showed Social Democratic leader Zoran Zaev with blood trickling from one side of his forehead, not long after he announced that the majority coalition led by his party had elected Talat Xhaferi as parliament speaker.

A Reuters witness saw nationalist protesters angered over Xhaferi’s election beating up another lawmaker in parliament. Broken glass littered the floor and traces of blood were seen in hallways.

Some of the roughly 200 protesters inside the parliament were masked. Witnesses said that police entered parliament after the disturbances erupted but did not immediately seek to quell the protesters.

EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called for “calm and restraint”.

“The acts of violence in the parliament are wholly unacceptable,” Mogherini said in a statement.

Police said eight people including an ethnic Albanian lawmaker were injured in Thursday’s violence.

President Gjorge Ivanov invited leaders of all political parties for a meeting in his office on Friday.

Ivanov refused to give a mandate to Zaev who has forged the coalition with ethnic Albanian parties to form the government saying it threatened the sovereignty of Macedonia.

Macedonia has been without a functioning government since 2015 when the country sank into political turmoil over a wiretapping scandal that brought down the ruling nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party bloc.

Elections were held in December 2016 but no government has been formed yet.

Police try to stop protesters entering Macedonia’s parliament after the governing Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties voted to elect an Albanian as parliament speaker in Skopje. Macedonia April 27, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Ognen Teofilovski

Zaev’s parliamentary alliance has triggered daily street protests by Macedonian nationalists in Skopje. Ethnic Albanians comprise a third of the country’s population.

VMRO-DPMNE lawmakers challenged the legality of Thursday’s vote, saying it was not carried out electronically as is the usual case because the parliamentary session had formally ended.

The current crisis is the worst since 2001 when Western diplomacy helped drag the country of 2.1 million people back from the brink of civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency, promising it a route to membership of the EU and NATO.

But Macedonia has made little progress in that direction due to a name dispute with Greece.

“I condemn the attacks on MPs in Skopje in the strongest terms. Violence has NO place in Parliament. Democracy must run its course,” the EU commissioner in charge of enlargement, Johannes Hahn, said in a tweet.

“This is the time for dialogue and not for violence,” Mats Staffansson, Sweden’s ambassador to Skopje, told reporters on behalf of EU and US legations in Macedonia.

Shortly before protesters charged into parliament, Zaev told reporters, “With 67 votes we have elected a new parliament speaker. I want to congratulate Talat Xhaferi and good luck to all of us.”

Xhaferi became the first ethnic Albanian parliament speaker in Macedonia since the small Balkan country won independence from then-Yugoslavia in 1991.

(Reuters)

Portugal’s Antonio Guterres Retains Lead in Race to be Next UN Chief

The UNSC will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace UN chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.

Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees, pauses during a news conference for the launch of the Global Humanitarian Appeal 2016 at the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland December 7, 2015. Credit: Reuters/Denis Balibouse

United Nations: Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres still leads the race to become the next UN Secretary-General after a third UN Security Council (UNSC) secret ballot on Monday, diplomats said.

The 15-member council cast a ballot for each of the remaining 10 candidates, and the choices were: encourage, discourage or no opinion. Guterres received 11 encourage, three discourage and one no opinion, diplomats said.

The UNSC will hold secret ballots until a consensus is reached on a candidate to replace UN chief Ban Ki-moon of South Korea who steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.

Guterres, who was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, also won the first two rounds of secret ballots by the UNSC.

In the second ballot on August 5 he picked up 11 encourage, two discourage and two no opinions, while in the first poll on July 21, Guterres received 12 encourages and three no opinions.

“Some favourites are emerging,” British UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters on his way in to the poll on Monday, adding he would encourage some candidates to consider dropping out.

“The whole point of the straw polls is to gradually winnow down the field,” he said.

In Monday’s poll Slovakia’s foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak jumped to second spot with nine encourage, five discourage and one no opinion, followed by Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, who is director-general of UN cultural organisation UNESCO and former Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic, who both had seven encourage, five discourage and three no opinion, diplomats said.

Argentinian foreign minister Susana Malcorra dropped to fifth spot from third, followed by former Macedonian foreign minister Srgjan Kerim and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, who heads the UN Development Programme.

Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk, Moldova’s former foreign minister Natalia Gherman and former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica filled the last three spots.

Former Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic dropped out of the race prior to the second ballot, while Montenegro foreign minister Igor Luksic withdrew last week.

Civil society groups and nearly a third of the 193 UN member states, led by Colombia, have pushed for the first woman secretary-general. But hopes for a woman to lead the UN appear to be fading.

Diplomats said the council aimed to recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election by October. Ultimately, the five permanent veto-wielding council members – the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France – must agree on a candidate.

(Reuters)

Greece Begins Clearing Migrant Camp Situated on Border

Greek authorities said they planned to move individuals gradually to state-supervised facilities further south.

A refugee family carry their belongings during a police operation at a refugee camp at the border between Greece and Macedonia, near the village of Idomeni, Greece, 24 May 2016. Credit: Reuters/Yannis Kolesidis/Pool

Athens: Greek police started clearing migrants and refugees out of a sprawling tent camp on the sealed northern border with Macedonia where thousands have been stranded for months waiting in vain for passage to Europe.

Reuters witnesses saw four to six bus loads of migrants leaving the makeshift camp of Idomeni early Tuesday morning, with about another dozen more lined up.

Greek authorities said they planned to move individuals gradually to state-supervised facilities further south.

“The evacuation is progressing without any problem,” said Giorgos Kyritsis, a government spokesman for the migrant crisis.

A Reuters witness on the Macedonian side of the border said there was a heavy police presence in the area but no problems were reported as people with young children packed up huge bags with their belongings.

“Those who pack their belongings will leave, because we want this issue over with. Ideally by the end of the week. We haven’t put a strict deadline on it, but more or less that is what we estimate,” Kyritsis told Reuters.

Railway tracks between Greece and Macedonia have been blocked by migrants for more than a month, forcing trains to switch routes through Bulgaria further to the east. Some wagons loaded with goods have been stranded on the tracks for weeks.

(Reuters)

Two New Candidates for UN Chief Undermine East European Claims

With Helen Clarke and Antonio Guterres announcing their candidatures for the secretary-general post, the longstanding claim that the next UN chief should be from Eastern Europe, under a system of traditional geographical rotation, has been undermined.

With Helen Clarke and Antonio Guterres announcing their candidatures for the secretary-general post, the longstanding claim that the next UN chief should be from Eastern Europe, under a system of traditional geographical rotation, has been undermined.

The United Nations General Assembly Hall. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The UN General Assembly hall. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

United Nations: When Antonio Guterres, the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees and ex-Prime Minister of Portugal, announced his candidature for the post of UN Secretary-General on February 29, he virtually undermined the longstanding claim that the next UN chief should be from Eastern Europe under a system of traditional geographical rotation.

But traditions are generally meant to be trodden down – at least at the UN.

Until Guterres’ declaration, all other officially declared candidates were from Eastern Europe: Srgjan Kerim of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Vesna Pusic of the Republic of Croatia; Igor Luksic of Montenegro; Danilo Turk of Slovenia; Irina Bokova of Bulgaria and Natalia Gherman of Republic of Moldova.

On April 4, Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, announced her official candidature for the same post, throwing the race even more widely open.

The Eastern Europeans have now been joined by a candidate from Western Europe and also one from the Pacific.

At a press briefing at the New Zealand Mission to the UN on April 4, Clark described the race for secretary-general as an “open contest” – with no candidates barred from competing for the job.

“I decided to run having received the full backing of the New Zealand government, because I believe I have the skills for the job. It is an extremely challenging position but I’m used to that.”

“My whole adult life has seen me progressively stepping up to leadership challenges including to those in my own country and then here at the United Nations, heading the development system these past seven years,” said Clark, currently administrator of the UN Development Programme, holding the rank of under-secretary-general.

She rightly pointed out that when nominations were called for from UN member states, they were called for from all 193 member states – irrespective of geographical regions.

“Already one senior representative from outside Eastern Europe has been nominated. I anticipate there will be other nominations,” she added.

“I judge it to be an open contest and my hope is that Member States will look at what are the challenges that the secretary-general’s going to have to lead the organisation forward on and who has the best skills for that job,” Clark declared.

Asked if the next secretary-general should be a woman, she said: “I am seeking the position because I believe I am the best person for the job. Obviously, I am a woman, but I’ve never sought election on the basis of being a woman.”

She also added: “I’ve always sought election, and I’ve sought election many times in my life, as the best person for the job. In the normal course of events, I like advocates of gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world, would like to see women have a fair chance, an equal chance at every position of responsibility. That applies to the United Nations as it applies to governments, as it applies to leadership positions in general.”

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports said that Clark’s is not the last nomination to the post. Some ‘old’ and new names were being mentioned on April 5, among them: Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; Mexico’s Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, former UN Under-Secretary-General; former Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín; Argentina’s Susana Malcorra, United Nations Chef de Cabinet to the Secretary-General and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Some of the new names cropping up are: Former Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and US business magnate, politician, and philanthropist Michael Rubens Bloomberg. With a net worth of $43.7 billion, Bloomberg is the sixth-wealthiest person in the US and the eighth-wealthiest in the world.

While speculations about potential candidates persist, the UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft has set up a website on which the names and CVs of all eight candidates for the top job – whose official candidature has been confirmed – have been posted.

In a letter dated February 25, Lykketoft informed all UN member states of his intention to begin the meetings with all candidates who had been formally presented by April.

“The informal dialogues or meetings will be as open and transparent as possible, with the considerable interest from the global public and civil society being duly kept in mind,” the letter stated.

Lykketoft said at a press briefing on February 26 at the UN Headquarters in New York: “I think this is quite historic and potentially game-changing for the way the secretary-general is appointed.”

Forthcoming sessions on April 12 and 14 promise to go down in the annals of history of the UN. For the first time, 193 member states of the UN and some selected sections of the general public will be given the opportunity of “an informal dialogue” with potential candidates for the prestigious post of the secretary-general.

Each candidate will be offered a two-hour meeting slot to present his or her candidature and UN member states will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with each person. Each candidate will be asked to provide a short vision statement of up to 2,000 words in advance, which Lykketoft’s office will circulate to member states and the public.

Furthermore, each candidate will be asked to lay out his or her “vision . . . on challenges and opportunities that the United Nations and the next secretary-general may encounter such as in the fields of peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, humanitarian response and issues pertaining to the management of the Organization”.

Time permitting, one or two representatives of the civil society will be given the floor. To top it all, meetings will be open and webcast with interpretation in all official languages and will follow “General Assembly seating protocol, a link to each webcast will be posted on the President’s webpage for future record”.

According to the UN Charter, the secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly following the recommendation of the Security Council. In as significant move, Lykkeroft along with Security Council President Samantha Power, issued a letter to member states on December 15, 2015 to begin soliciting candidates, and to set in motion the selection and appointment process

This article originally appeared on IDN-InDepthNews.