UNGA President Mogens Lykketoft

UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft said on Thursday that new candidates for the position of next UN chief should come forward quickly.

A three-day public audition with nine candidates running for the post of the next UN secretary-general concluded earlier on Thursday.

“We urge now every candidate must be on their way to come forward, said Lykketoft, “so we can have the same kind of procedure with them as quickly as possible.”

It is the first time in the history that UN secretary-general candidates have been asked to submit their resumes and answer questions publicly raised by UN member states as well as the civil society.

According to Lykketoft, over the past three days, more than 800 questions have been raised; around 227,000 people from 209 countries and territories watched the audition on the website.

Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the 15-member Security Council and its five permanent members will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Lykketoft said such an informal dialogue between candidates and General Assembly representatives has the potential to affect the outcome of selection of next UN secretary-general. However, the new move is widely seen as historic yet not decisive.

The incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is going to conclude his term at the end of 2016. The council’s decision to select the top leader of the world organization shall come late this year.

Nine candidates who have declared so far are: Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Igor Luksic, Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres, former Slovenian President Danilo Turk, former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, former Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman, Administrator of UN Development Program Helen Clark, former Foreign Minister of Macedonia Srgjan Kerim.

Former Foreign Minister of Serbia Vuk Jeremic, who joined the audition was not initially listed among the first eight candidates .