France, Qatar neck-and-neck for UNESCO chief
(VOVWORLD) - Qatar's Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari and France's Audrey Azoulay – both former culture ministers – had 18 votes apiece in the contest to replace outgoing UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.
A fourth round of voting will be held on Thursday. Vietnam’s Pham Sanh Chau dropped out of the race before the third round. Chairman of the UNESCO Executive Board Michael Worbs said Vietnam’s candidate did well in the second round, but his decision to withdraw reflected a deep analysis of the situation. During his campaign, international friends learned more about Vietnam, its policies, and people.