Race for WTO Director-General, Okonjo-Iweala, others to know fate next week

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and four other candidates who are still in the race for the job of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are expected to know their fate next week. By next week, the remaining five candidates, who are from the initial pool of eight candidates that were shortlisted, will be further pruned down to just two candidates after the second round of elimination.

The five remaining candidates include Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria), Liam Fox (UK), Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril (Kenya), Yoo Myung-hee (South Korea), and Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri ( Saudi Arabia). The candidates that were eliminated include Jesus Seade (Mexico), Tudor Ulianovschi (Moldova), and Hamid Mamdouh (Egypt). The candidates were said not to be able to secure the support needed for the first round of 3 rounds of voting. The remaining five candidates are in the race to replace Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as the WTO Director-General last month a year ahead of schedule.

However, it remains quite unclear whether the WTO members will ultimately agree on another leader from Europe. There is no requirement for a regional rotation of the WTO chief position. But there have been calls for an African to finally get a shot at running the organisation, which has been led by three Director-Generals from Europe, and one each from Oceania, Asia and South America since its creation in 1995. The WTO aims to select a winner in November, but some have voiced fear that increasing politicisation of the WTO, which relies on consensus to reach decisions, could draw out the process.