Vera El-Khoury Lacoeuilhe, Lebanon's candidate for the position of Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), poses during an interview in Paris, France, October 6, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
CAIRO – 12 October 2017: Right after the withdrawal of the Chinese candidate, Qian Tang, for the post of UNESCO’s director-general in favor of Egypt, the Lebanese candidate Vera Khouri announced her withdrawal before the fourth round on Thursday.
Khouri had only amassed four votes in the third round held Wednesday.
In an unexpected move ahead of the fourth round of the UNESCO Director-General voting process on Thursday, China also announced the withdrawal of its candidate Qian Tang in favor of Egypt’s candidate Ambassador Moushira Khattab, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, confirmed.
Khattab acquired 13 votes in the third round, and with the Chinese candidate’s withdrawal she has the chance to garner at least 18 votes in the upcoming. Tang - who is the current Assistant-Director General for the organization - got five votes in the second and third rounds. These five votes came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Russia, and China.
Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari and France’s Audrey Azoulay both received 18 votes each in the third round on Wednesday to replace UNESCO’s director-general Irina Bokova by the start of 2018.
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