The members of the International Telecommunications Union are set to vote for a new secretary-general this week, along with 64 other key seats on the body, organizers said Wednesday.

The related procedures will begin on Thursday, starting with the election of the secretary-general. Each member state is allowed to cast one vote for each election, and the candidate with majority support will be declared the winner. With incumbent ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure’s term set to end this year, member states will cast votes on the only lead candidate, Houlin Zhao from China, who is serving his second term as deputy secretary-general.

With Zhao expected to win, a separate election will choose the next deputy secretary-general among the candidates from Canada, Britain, Poland, Nigeria and Mauritania. 

In the election for the Radio Regulations Board, France’s Francois Rancy is the only candidate for the post of director of the Radiocommunication Bureau, his second term.

Three candidates are to stand for the post of director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. South Korea’s Lee Chae-sub will compete against candidates from Turkey and Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the vote for the 48-seat Council member states will also be held on Thursday, with 18 countries battling for 13 seats allocated for Asia and Australia.

The 19th ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, referred to as the PP-14, continues until Nov. 7. The event is held every four years, and it is the second time for it to be held in Asia.

By Park Hyong-ki and news reports
(hkp@heraldcorp.com)