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 UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. Security Council members agree that Secretary-General Kofi Annan's successor should be selected by the end of October, a timetable that would give an advantage to the current front-runner, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, diplomats said.
Further bolstering Ban's chances, diplomats from several key Security Council nations said their governments would not mind if the next U.N. chief comes from among the seven formally declared candidates, among whom Ban enjoys the most support.
In years past, the selection process has dragged well into December, and new candidates emerged late. But diplomats said they wanted to give the new U.N. chief a few months to prepare for the job — unlike Annan, who was elected two weeks before taking office.
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