UNESCO will today choose its new chief with Bulgarian incumbent Irina Bokova seeking a second term to head an agency that has been cash-strapped due to a US freeze on funds over admitting Palestine as a member.
Bokova is the favourite for the top job but faces a tough challenge from two rivals -- the Djiboutian ambassador to France, Rachad Farah, and Lebanese academic Joseph Maila.
Djibouti is a small nation but it is positioning itself as both an African and an Arab country.
The Organisation of Islamic Conference, with 57 member states, had unanimously voted to support Farah's candidature.
A former foreign minister, Bokova was elected to head the UN cultural organisation in 2009.
She has defended her stint but both Farah and Maila argue that the body has lost its main objective -- to maintain world peace through culture.
Washington stopped aid to UNESCO after the body admitted Palestine as its 195th member in 2011 -- a loss of 22 per cent of the budget which has now fallen to USD 507 million from USD 653 million earlier.
"The financial crisis is behind us," Bokova said recently, arguing that the body had been able to maintain its programmes.
But she expressed concern over the tighter budget saying it was "a derisory amount in respect of our mandate."
About 300 officials risk being laid off due to the whittled budget. UNESCO last year had 1,200 employees based in its Paris headquarters and 900 others deployed worldwide.
France's Court of Auditors charged with conducting financial and legislative audits of most public institutions, has been scathing in its criticism of UNESCO saying the "unexpected nature (of the fund freeze) could not justify the organisation's state of unpreparedness."
But other reports -- notably by Britain and Australia -- have voiced general approval of Bokova's tenure.
The UNESCO executive board will vote by secret ballot today evening. But opinion seems to be divided.
"If she loses, I will be shocked," said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"She has not abolished a single job, nor any of the main programmes despite a 33 per cent hole in the budget" due to Canada and Israel following in the footsteps of the United States over the entry of Palestine, the diplomat said.
Bokova needs 30 votes to win in the first round out of a total of 58.
