Bulgaria swaps candidate for UN top job

Bulgaria yesterday switched its candidate to be the next head of the United Nations, shaking up the race to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on December 31.

Sofia is now throwing its weight behind European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, dumping Unesco chief Irina Bokova after she came a lowly sixth in the latest round of informal voting in New York.

"We think it will be a more successful candidacy," Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said ahead of a government meeting.

Borisov said that Bokova, 64, had been given a "final chance" in the most recent vote but was jettisoned after she "fell even further and was overtaken by several other countries and other female candidates".

Bulgaria's switch to Georgieva, a 63-year-old economist, came a day after Borisov spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone.

Veto-wielding Russia wants the next UN chief to come from eastern Europe, the only region yet to be represented in the top post.

Rumours had been swirling for days that Bulgaria would drop its support for Bokova, a Harvard graduate and fluent Russian speaker backed by Moscow.

Georgieva, who is currently the EU's budget commissioner, has long been tipped as a possible contender to be the first woman to lead the United Nations.