BREAKING: Egyptian, French UNESCO candidates tie in fourth round

PARIS – 12 October 2017: Egypt’s candidate for UNESCO’s director-general post, Moushira Khattab obtained 18 votes in the fourth round of the voting process on Thursday, to be equaled with France’s candidate, while Qatar’s amassed 22 votes, according to Egypt Today's reporter in Paris.

The board will cast a voting between Egyptian and French candidates early Friday to determine which will run for the fifth round of elections with Qatar's Kawari.

Earlier on Thursday, Lebanese UNESCO director-general candidate, Vera Khouri (four votes), announced her withdrawal from the race in favor of the Egyptian candidate, just as the Chinese candidate Qian Tang (five votes) did too.

Pham Sanh Chau of Vietnam withdrew before the third round. The first round was held Monday, and the second was held on Wednesday where Azerbaijan's nominee had withdrawn.

The winning candidate must obtain 30 votes.

The new director-general of UNESCO will be named on October 13. Then, 195 members in the General Conference will be appointed in view of recommendations from UNESCO’s Executive Board.