Competition between Portugal’s Vitorino and Emi for the election of UN Migration Agency chief

Member countries of the UN migration agency are voting on Monday to choose its leader for the next five years. The contest is between the European Director General of the agency and the US Deputy Director General. The contest is between Antonio Vitorino, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, and Amy Pope, deputy director-general of the US-backed Biden administration. Three diplomatic officials said on condition of anonymity that after the first round of voting, António Vitorino of Portugal, director general of the International Organization for Migration, received 67 votes while Amy Pope, the Biden administration-backed deputy director general, received 98 votes.

Under IOM rules, a candidate must receive at least a two-thirds majority of the countries voting to win. A total of 165 countries voted in the first round, meaning that if all those countries voted in the second round on Monday afternoon, 110 votes would be needed to win. IOM has 175 member states. Member countries voted in absentia after both candidates left the conference hall in Geneva.

At the same time, Pope and Vitorino did not talk to each other during this period. However, the Pope expressed confidence in a conversation with some journalists. The Portuguese diplomatic mission in Geneva tweeted that the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, which has nine members, was supporting Vitorino. Also, the European Union announced in recent days that it is a candidate for the 27-member bloc. Portugal is also a member of the European Union.

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