Thai candidate for UN top job

[prcscct]

Thai PM says Thai candidate for UN top job amassing support

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says Thailand's candidate for the next UN Secretary General has the support of 114 countries.

"Our candidate, deputy prime minister Surakiart (Sathirathai), now has 114 countries' support and needs only 14 countries more to get two-thirds," Thaksin said in his weekly radio address after talks in Finland.

"Most significantly, if the five permanent members of the UN Security Council support (Surakiart), our chance is highly possible," Thaksin said after meeting Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

Vanhanen met Surakiart, who is touring European capitals with Thaksin, and said Friday he was in favour of having an Asian succeed Kofi Annan when Annan's term as secretary general of the United Nations ends next year.

However, Finland has not yet decided which candidate it will support, Vanhanen added.

The Security Council elects the secretary general, who must win nine votes from its 15 members without receiving a veto from any of the five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Last month Thaksin met with President George W. Bush in Washington and asked the United States to support Surakiart.

Asia has been represented in the top post once before, when U Thant of Burma, now Myanmar, held the job from 1961 to 1971.