New York, 22 September 2006 – The candidacy of Surakiart Sathirathai, deputy prime minister of Thailand, was brought into question this week by the overthrow of his government on Tuesday. General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, head of the group that took control of the government, announced that he continues to support Surakiart’s candidacy. Likewise the permanent mission of the Philippines, chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN), yesterday said that “nothing has changed” regarding its support for Surakiart as its sole candidate.

Factors working against his candidacy, however, were described to the media by Asda Jayanama, former Thai ambassador to the United States who opposes Surakiart’s candidacy: financial and human resources for his campaign would be much lower now than before the coup; he had attempted to hold a meeting with ASEAN ministers during the General Assembly in New York but failed; and that he also tried to hold a meeting with all Security Council members and was unsuccessful.

Three other individuals from Southeast Asia mentioned this week in the media as promising candidates were: Chan Heng Chee (Singapore’s ambassador to the United States), Goh Chok Tong (former prime minister of Singapore), Domingo Siazon (former foreign minister of Philippines), and Leticia Shahani (former UN Assistant Secretary-General, also from the Philippines).

Ashraf Ghani was nominated as a candidate on 20 September in a letter from the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan. According to Ghani’s campaign, he met with President Karzai on 18 September as was reported in the Financial Times, but “administrative delays” prevented the nomination letter from reaching Afghanistan’s mission in New York until 20 September, at which time it was conveyed to the President of the Security Council. His campaign said that there is “absolutely no internal conflict in the administration” regarding the candidacy. Click here for information on Ghani’s background and positions. He already has agreed to respond to the UNSGselection.org Candidate Questionnaire.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia discussed her candidacy in her address to the U.N. General Assembly’s 61st Session on Tuesday. She elaborated on her views on UN reform and reiterated her belief that regional rotation should not be decisive in this selection process. Click here to read her address. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea also addressed the General Assembly, but he did not mention his candidacy for Secretary-General.