Okonjo-Iweala to emerge as WTO Director-General after a successful election.
Former Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emerge as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), ARISE News reports.
She is to emerge as the first African and female and Director general of the world trade organization if confirmed. A record that has never been broken before.
According to Arise News on Wednesday afternoon, Okonjo-Iweala defeated her only challenger, South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, by a wide margin.
Her emergence is expected to be announced officially by the WTO later on Tuesday.
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US Sets to block the selection of Okonjo-Iweala as the WTO Director General
According to high-level US trade representatives the country will not back Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy.
It gives displeasure with how the selection process has been carried out, Bloomberg reports.
The administration has blocked the appointment of judges to the appellate body of the WTO, effectively stopping it from functioning and hearing appeals on global trade disputes.
With talks expected between member states expected to continue, an appointment for Okonjo-Iweala, who has run a very high-profile campaign for the role, will have to wait until the Nov. 9 when the body’s general council is expected to meet.
In the event that the member nations do not achieve a consensus, the selection of a new WTO director-general will be done through a vote as a last resort.
The statement reads:
“Recourse to a vote for the appointment of a director-general shall be understood to be an exceptional departure from the customary practice of decision-making by consensus, and shall not establish any precedent for such recourse in respect of any future decisions in the WTO,” the body says about its selection process.
But the looming US elections also offer another dynamic to this process as it remains unclear how a Trump loss, for instance, could affect the administration’s last-minute plans and decisions.
“The challenge is that the Trump team is still going to be in power until mid January [if he loses] and there’s no indication that they’re going to embrace a lame-duck presidency,” says Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“On the contrary, the Trump administration will drive harder than ever to push their agenda in the remaining months if they’re defeated at the ballot box.”
Nigerians React on Twitter as Okonjo-Iweala is Emerge as WTO Director-General
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have reacted as Okonjo-Iweala is to head the WTO as DG.
Big Congratulations to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala as the new and first female WTO DG. I am ever proud of you. You are a rare gem.
— Martin Agbili (@Agilitymartin) October 29, 2020
104 out of 164 countries backed Dr. Ngọzi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO DG 🇳🇬💃🕺💃🕺🇳🇬.#EngrMartinAgbili#FireChiefEngrAgility pic.twitter.com/OP3tBzNH3m
Congratulations to Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of #Nigeria , who has moved forward in her bid to be the next #WTO Director-General. If she wins, she will be the first woman and first person from an #OACPS Member State to hold the post. 👉🔗 https://t.co/iFboryfSQQ pic.twitter.com/Yt9RF3vfMO
— OACPS Secretariat (@PressACP) October 8, 2020
