A straw poll to pick the best candidate for the position of director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be held next week. Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations Mikhail Ulyanov Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Wednesday.
`All four candidates for the position of IAEA Director General presented today their programs to the Board of Governors. Hearings proved that all of them are good professionals. Not easy to select the best one among them. Straw poll next week will help identify the leaders.` Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.
There are four candidates for the agency’s top job. They are IAEA Acting Director General Cornel Feruta (Romania). Argentina’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Rafael Grossi. Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Lassina Zerbo (Burkina Faso) and head of Slovakia`s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Marta Ziakova.
The IAEA director general is approved by the General Conference at its annual autumn session. The candidate is selected among contenders. nominated for the position. in the so-called straw poll. To be elected. the candidate needs to secure a two-thirds majority. If none of the candidates receives the needed votes. the procedure is repeated.
The election of a new IAEA chief is being held due to the passing of the former head of that organization. Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano. who died in July. The procedure to elect a new director general is scheduled to be completed in October. In order to be elected. a candidate should secure the support of most members of the Board of Governors. The new IAEA head is due to assume office no later than January 1. 2020.