Khattab garners 25 votes, leaves race after maintaining 3rd rank

CAIRO – 13 October 2017: Egypt’s candidate Moushira Khattab running for UNESCO top post garnered 25 votes Friday in the run-off, leaving the race after maintaining third rank over the past four rounds.

The fifth and last round will see the French candidate Audrey Azoulay who got 31 votes, competing with the Qatari candidate Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari who amassed 22 votes Thursday.

Two votes were counted void during Friday’s run-off.

On Thursday, 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.

Egypt has submitted an official complaint to UNESCO’s director general Irina Bakova, requesting verification of several violations occurred during the ongoing elections to select the UN cultural organization's head.

It has been revealed to Egypt Today that the French President Emmanuel Macron has made phone calls with leaders of European countries and African countries speaking French, who are supporting Egypt's candidate for UNESCO top post, to change their votes in favor of France, according to reliable sources in UNESCO.