Dhanapala Withdraws!

Jayantha Dhanapala, Sri Lanka’s candidate for UNSG, has withdrawn his candidacy.

Following the results of the third ‘straw poll’ in the election of the Secretary-General conducted by the members of the Security Council on Thursday 28 September 2006, the Government of Sri Lanka – with the total agreement of its candidate – has now decided not to further pursue the candidature of Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala in the interest of ensuring a consensus in electing an Asian candidate.

It is the hope of the Government of Sri Lanka that this action will facilitate the election of the emerging most favoured candidate.

One concern raised in explaining the difficulty Dhanapala had in conducting his campaign was the expense. 

Diplomats said the huge costs of running a campaign of travel, lobbying and speaking around the world have handicapped candidates like Dhanapala in the competition with foreign ministers and officials from wealthier countries.

UPDATE (10/1): The Sri Lankan government is now supporting Ban Ki Moon.

3 Responses to “Dhanapala Withdraws!”

  1. mathew says:

    Jayantha Dhanapala and Sri Lanka could show a sterling example of NAM solidarity if they now openly support the Indian candidate. History will judge them harshly if they shift their support to the South Korean candidate, whose image has been irreparably soiled by the vote-buying scam. At the helm of the only truly global organisation the world has, we need someone with impeccable integrity, not the least someone who has no qualms about doling out cash to secure the UN’s top job.

  2. bigboss says:

    Tharoor is the right choice for this post.
    India is a nation which has a large Muslim population. An Indian would definitely be respected in most nations including Arab and Muslim nations, due to the ethnic and culturally rich background that India is well known for.

    The female from Latvia would not be respected as much as Tharoor since Muslim Nations do not give much opportunity to women in decision making and a womens say in any matter would not be given much weightage.
    (and also her name is very tough to pronounce and remember – which would be tough for students studying History 🙂 )

    Psychologically speaking, most nations would look up to Tharoor and respect his word.

    Ban Ki Moon would definitely NOT be the right choice for UNSG since his power siphoning techniques are visible to all.

    Why should only a few nations be given such tremendous power? Why should the UNSG be decided by a non democratic system which has concentrated powers?

    Hence a candidate from India would be ideal. A person who has tasted democracy in its true sense is definitely the one to bring a revolution or rather an evolution in the UN. Also please see Tharoors experience in and out of the UN and compare it with any other candidates credentials.

    You will notice that Tharoor stands far above any of the others.

  3. mundarath says:

    No question about Mr. Tharoors choice as next UNSG. Is there any rule of dis qualifying a candiadte whose government have influensed the SC members?
    ( As reported by the print media)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.