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UN food agency members vote to elect new director general

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UN food agency members vote to elect new director general
News

News

UN food agency members vote to elect new director general

2019-06-23 17:35 Last Updated At：17:40

Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have started voting to elect the new head of the United Nation's food agency.

The 194 member countries, convened at the FAO's headquarters in Rome for the agency's 41st conference, will pick the new director general on Sunday among three candidates from China, France and Georgia. The candidates — who for the first time include a woman — each boast extensive experience in the sector.

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Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have started voting to elect the new head of the United Nation's food agency.
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

The U.S. backs Davit Kirvalidze, the former Georgian minister of agriculture while Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, former head of France's agricultural ministry, is the European Union's candidate.
Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
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Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have started voting to elect the new head of the United Nation's food agency.

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

The U.S. backs Davit Kirvalidze, the former Georgian minister of agriculture while Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, former head of France's agricultural ministry, is the European Union's candidate.

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

China has nominated its agricultural deputy minister Qu Dongyu, who many see as the front-runner. He would be the first from a Communist country to hold the FAO director-general's chair.

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

The U.S. backs Davit Kirvalidze, the former Georgian minister of agriculture while Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, former head of France's agricultural ministry, is the European Union's candidate.

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Catherine Geslain Lancelle, from France, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), addresses a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)
Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

 Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

Qu Dongyu from China, one of the candidates for the Director-General position of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), arrives to address a plenary meeting of the 41st Session of the Conference, at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Saturday, June 22, 2019. The new FAO Director-General will be voted on Sunday. (AP PhotoAndrew Medichini)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.

Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.

“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”

“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.

The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.

Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.

Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.

The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.

Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.

In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.

Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.

Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

 Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

 Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

 Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

 FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

 FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
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