The WHO’s New Electoral Format Could Be a Model for Other UN Agencies
Until now the World Health Organization’s (WHO) member states elected a new director-general entirely in secret. In the last contested election in 2006, the names of the candidates were publicly announced but the shortlisting by the WHO’s 34-member executive board, and its nomination for the next director-general, were held in private. The board’s single nomination was then endorsed by the World Health Assembly (WHA), consisting of representatives of all the WHO’s 194 member states.
This time the procedure has been substantially revised, based on the deliberations of a member state working group established in 2011. There is a new code of conduct for the election process emphasising greater transparency, including, for instance, member states ‘considering’ disclosing contributions to their candidate’s election campaign.… Seguir leyendo »