"Fairness and confidentiality" will define deliberations over new UN chief


"Fairness and confidentiality" will define Security Council proceedings to select the next candidate to lead the United Nations.

That's according to the President of the Council, speaking in advance of the first straw poll, which took place on Thursday.

Unprecedented open dialogues took place with all of the twelve candidates to become the next UN chief, in the General Assembly, but now the Council takes over the process.

Thursday's straw poll marks the opening stage of deliberations for the 15 members of the Security Council; five permanent, and ten non-permanent Member States.

No officials from the UN Secretariat are present, and no official record of the results is kept.

Following the informal public proceedings that took place in the General Assembly, Council members met privately and individually with all of the candidates.

Here's Council President, Koro Bessho, Japan's UN ambassador, telling journalists how the poll would be conducted.

"There will not be discussion in the Council, it will be a voting process and I'm not sure if I am at liberty to tell you exactly what the ballot is going to look like, but we would like to make sure (of) fairness and the confidentiality of voting."

Following the first ballots and tallies, Permanent Representative Bessho said that he would inform the President of the General Assembly and the nominating countries of each candidate that the poll had taken place, but no results will be conveyed.

The date of the next straw poll will also be decided following the first ballots.

The results will provide candidates with their first indication of their prospects for being appointed to the UN's top job.

SOURCE: Matthew Wells, United Nations.