Turkey nominates OSCE chief Sinirlioglu for UN's top job

Turkey has nominated Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu, leader of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to be the next UN secretary-general, the country's official Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday. A nomination letter dated Friday from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been submitted to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, Anadolu said, citing Turkish foreign ministry sources. The move came after a deadlock in the selection process, with the latest straw poll at the UN Security Council held on Friday returning an inconclusive outcome, the sources told the news agency. The outgoing secretary-general, Antonio Guterres of Portugal, ends his second five-year term on December 31. Even if a candidate earns the required nine votes from the 15 available in the Security Council, they must also avoid a veto by the five major powers, which are deeply divided. Once a candidate clears those bars, their name will go to the General Assembly of all UN members for confirmation. Report by AFP