Lithuania’s Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Ambassador Ina Marčiulionytė received 3 votes out of 58 during the first round of the election of UNESCO‘s Director-General on 17 September in Paris.

As it has already been forecasted, the new head of the organization was not elected at the first round.

Nine candidates run for this post. The largest number of votes (22) at the first round was given to Farouk Hosny of Egypt. The Bulgaran candidate Irina Bokova received 8 votes.

7 countries voted for each of these candidates: Benita Ferrero-Waldner of Austria, Ecuador’s Ivonne Baki, and the Russian Alexander Yakovenko. Nouréini Tidjani-Serpos from Benin received 2 votes and representative of Tanzania Sospeter Muhongo received a vote of one country. The Algerian Mohammed Bedjaoui who has been nominated by Cambodia did not receive any votes. One ballot was spoiled.

The second round of election takes place in the evening of 18 September.

In order to win the election of UNESCO‘s Director-General the candidate needs to receive at least 30 votes of the countries which currently are members of the Executive Board. There are five election rounds scheduled in total, unless any of the candidates wins the election at an earlier stage.
After the election at the Executive Board, the new Director-General will be named at the General Conference on 6 to 23 October.

Lithuania nominated its Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador I.Marčiulionytė as a joint candidate of the Baltic States to the post of UNESCO‘s Director-General in October 2008. It is the first time when Lithuania nominates its candidate to the position of the head of an international organization.