New York, 28 September 2006 – BBC World Service assembled four candidates for UN Secretary-General in a radio debate aired yesterday. Ashraf Ghani, Jayantha Dhanapala, Shashi Tharoor, and Vaira Vike-Freiberga discussed their views on UN reform, current global conflicts, and the process of Secretary-General selection. Ban Ki-Moon did not respond to phone calls about the program; other candidates were unavailable.

The one-hour discussion between the candidates was a rare occasion for interaction between them.

The program also set up an opinion poll of the candidates for listeners. As of Thursday afternoon (28 September), 243 people had participated. The candidates were ranked as follows:

Shashi Tharoor ……………………. 118 votes
Vaira Vike-Frieberga ………………44 votes
Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al Hussein …….25 votes
Jayantha Dhanapala ……………..23 votes
Ban Ki-Moon ………………………….17 votes
Ashraf Ghani ………………………….15 votes
Surakiart Sathirathai …………………1 vote

Other exposure to the candidates – albeit without interaction between them – occurred this week in talks by Ban Ki-Moon and Ashraf Ghani at the Asia Society and the International Peace Academy in New York.

Five out of the seven candidates (all but Ban Ki-Moon and Surakiart Sathirathai) also wrote opinion-editorials for the New York Times today, in response to two questions, “Discuss an avoidable mistake the United Nations had made within the last five years;” and “What major reform would you undertake as Secretary-General?”

The Security Council’s third informal straw poll of the candidates is scheduled for 4 pm this afternoon.