More on the 2013 Election

Rachad Farah has had some important endorsements:

• "African Union backs Djiboutian Rachad Farah for UNESCO D-G post", AfriqueJet Actualité Afrique, 28/01/2013
• "Islamic Nations Try Again to Take Helm of UN Agency", CNSNews, November 30, 2012

Were all the nations belonging to the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to vote as a block then Farah would be a favorite for the election. However, in past elections for the UNESCO Director General countries have not always followed the endorsements of their regional bodies.

More:

• "Djibouti seeks Gabon support for UNESCO", Gabonews, undated but recent
• "Elections à l’UNESCO, Rachad Farah en tournée.", RTD, undated
• "Unesco, Rachad Farah, un Djiboutien en Lice," Jeune Afrique, 22/01/2013
• "Rachad Farah brigue la Direction de l’Unesco", Afrique Asie, 28/12/12
• "UNESCO head faces early leadership challenge", Yojana Sharma, SciDev.Net, Nov 23, 2012

The rules used for the election of the Director General in 2009 were relatively complex. I understand they are being reviewed and will possibly be modified for the election this year.