Jordan's Ambassador to the United Nations Prince Zeid al Hussein on Tuesday annouced his candidature to succeed Kofi Annan as United Nations secretary general, a post for which India's Shashi Tharoor is also in the race.

Zeid is the fifth candidate for the post and the first Muslim to enter the race.

Annan would be leaving office on December 31.

A cousin of Jordan King Abdullah II, Zeid is a former UN peacekeeper.

Besides Tharoor, who is undersecretary-general for public affairs, the other candidates for the post are South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lanka's Jayantha Dhanapala.

A straw-poll, an initial process to gauge the support enjoyed by the candidates among the 191-member world body, is expected to be held later this month.

Diplomats expect some more candidates to join the fray over next few weeks. They said the Security Council is expected to take up the issue some time in the middle of September to decide on the date for the 'straw' or informal poll.