Auschwitz Survivor Backs Bulgaria UNESCO Candidate

Bokova is set to face off with controversial Egyptian candidate Faruq Hosni later on Tuesday in a final round of voting. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Auschwitz survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel has backed Bulgarian UNESCO chief candidate Irina Bokova to win the final vote on Tuesday.

Wiesel, said that Bokova's opponenet Faruq Hosni's appointment would "shame" the global community, as well as the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre and US and French intellectuals.

Hosni had long been front-runner in the race for the job but the charges of anti-Semitism of anti-Semitism clouded his candidacy.

The European Commissioner for External Relations, former Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, also seemed to back Bokova when she pulled out of the race Sunday "in the interest of the organisation and European unity."

Bokova is set to face off with controversial Egyptian candidate Faruq Hosni later on Tuesday in a final round of voting.

In a secret fourth ballot held late Monday Bokova is reported to have received exactly the same number of votes as Hosni. The vote has been clouded by Hosni making alleged anti-Jewish comments.

The fifth and final vote is Tuesday. If the candidates are still tied then, the winner will be picked in a draw, UNESCO said.

 

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