Ban safe choice of veto-holding powers

UN chief Ban Ki-moon may have almost blown his chances of re-election by antagonising Moscow over the Balkans in 2008 but he has since focused on pleasing the US, Russia and other big UN powers, making his re-election tomorrow a certainty.

Ban has won warm praise from most of the big powers in his campaign. He is running unopposed and is expected to win handily, after Russia and the other 14 members of the UN Security Council endorsed his bid on Friday. His new term would start next January 1, 2012.

Ban’s re-election would come in spite of a certain amount of dissatisfaction with him in the developing world.