OKONJO-IWEALA: NEW WORLD BANK PRESIDENT EMERGES TODAY
Okonjo-Iweala
The high wire politics, lobbying and deal-making for the election of the new World Bank president ends today as the Board of the Bretton Woods institution meets to pick its new helmsman, just as Mo Ibrahim Foundation has warned the United States to relax its stranglehold on the bank and allow a merit-based election process.
Today's election is a straight battle between Nigeria's Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the U.S. nominee, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert, who appears almost certain to secure the post.
The third candidate, Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former Colombian Finance minister, withdrew on Friday to brighten Mrs Okonjo-Iweala's chances of clinching the plum job.
And with the board of the bank meeting today, Ocampo said he hoped emerging-market nations would rally behind the Nigerian Finance Minister in a race that he said had turned highly political. Ocampo, who was nominated by Brazil, said his candidacy had been 'handicapped' by a lack of support from his own country. Colombia said last month it was focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labour Organization (ILO), where it had a greater chance of success.
'It is clear that the process is shifting from a strict merit-based competition, in which my candidacy stood on strong grounds, into a more political-oriented exercise,' he said in a statement.'In this process, I stand on weaker grounds due to the lack of open support from the government of my home country, Colombia,' he added.
Okonjo-Iweala thanked Ocampo and said his presence had helped to further a shared goal of an open selection process. 'I am proud that Dr. Ocampo and I have helped make history by changing the way that World Bank presidential elections are contested,' she said in a statement.
Although his decision to leave the race does not mean all the developing countries will support Okonjo-Iweala when the World Bank board tries to find consensus in today's meeting on a successor to Robert Zoellick, who is departing in June.