Vike-Freiberga upbeat about U.N. prospects despite drawbacks

  • 2006-10-03
  • By TBT staff
After two rounds of voting to become the U.N. secretary-general, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, a longshot possibility for the post, has been pleased with what Latvia, as well as the three Baltic states and Eastern Europe has accomplished through her candidacy, according to presidential spokeswoman Aiva Rozenberga.

"The principles discussed when nominating her caused a positive sensation," Rozenberga told BNS. "Nothing is over yet."
"The UN secretary general election process also should be become transparent, open and democratic, it should not create artificial borders between religions, genders and other features," Vike-Freiberga has said.

The UN Security Council on Monday held the fourth informal poll on candidates to the UN secretary general. As in previous polls, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, who has reportedly refused to refer to the Rwandan genocide as a "genocide," received the largest number of votes. The Latvian president participated only in the two last polls and finished both times in third place. During the poll on Oct. 2, her candidacy was vetoed by two permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The term of Kofi Annan, the first black African to serve as U.N. secretary-general, expires in December. He has said the next person to take the post should come from Asia, in keeping with the principle of geographic rotation, though the U.S. and the U.K. said nationality should not affect the choice for U.N. secretary-general.