The representatives of UNESCO again failed to elect a new director

Paris - The Executive Council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was unable to select a new Director-General of the organization in today's fourth round of voting, adding to the tension of the situation. The fifth decisive round of voting will take place on Tuesday. This was reported by the AFP agency.
    In the fourth round, both Egyptian Farouk Hosny and Bulgarian Irina Bokova received 29 votes each. If the situation repeats on Tuesday in the 58-member governing body, a drawing will decide who will be the new head of UNESCO, clarified the spokesperson for the organization's Paris headquarters.
    Out of the original nine candidates nominated by their countries, seven withdrew from the race for the top position during the subsequent rounds. Over the weekend, Austrian Benita Ferrer-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations, also withdrew. She reportedly decided to do so "in the higher interest of the organization and European unity".
    According to AFP, the elections were accompanied by intense negotiations among European delegations aimed at finding a common candidate who would secure the necessary majority and defeat the favored controversial Egyptian, who some critics consider to be anti-Semitic. For instance, he declared last year that he would burn all Israeli books in Egypt.
    The intergovernmental organization UNESCO, based in Paris, is one of the 14 specialized agencies of the UN. It was established in 1946. Its goal is to strengthen cooperation among countries in education, science, and culture. The new Director will replace the current head of UNESCO, Japanese Koichiro Matsuura, whose mandate expires this year.