Indian nominee for the post of the next United Nations Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor remained at the second position in the third informal straw poll conducted by the 15-member Security Council but with reduced number of positive votes compared with last two exercises.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon continued to lead the pack of seven candidates but he too lost one positive vote compared with the last straw poll. But it was not clear whether any of those voting against the two candidates on Thursday were veto-wielding permanent members.
In this context, the straw poll scheduled for Monday will be more indicative of the relative positions of the candidates as veto-wielding members will be given ballot of different colour and thus it will be known if and how many vetoes each candidate has attracted.
Shashi Tharoor got eight positive votes with three members voting against and four expressing no opinion. In the last two polls, he had got ten positive votes. Ban's score this time was 13 in favour, one against and one no opinion. Last time, he had 14 in favour and one against.
Diplomats expected all the candidates to wait until Monday's poll to see if they have any veto against them before
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Coverage: The Great Indian Hope