IAEA/DG: AMANO LOSES BY ONE VOTE, SLATE WIPED CLEAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L UNVIE VIENNA 000132 SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO, ISN, P AND D E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: AORC PREL PARM TRGY IAEA KNNP JA SF SUBJECT: IAEA/DG: AMANO LOSES BY ONE VOTE, SLATE WIPED CLEAN REF: A) STATE: 28852 B) UNVIE 128 Classified By: Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte for reasons 1.4 b and d Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Despite an intensive and successful overnight lobbying campaign, Japanese Governor Amano fell one vote short of the required two-thirds majority to be appointed IAEA Director General. In this second day of balloting, March 27, the Board of Governors held three votes in succession: first, a simple majority vote to determine who was the "leading candidate," which Amano handily won by a vote of 23(Amano)-12(Minty)-O abstentions; second, an up or down vote on Amano as the "leading candidate" in which he fell one vote short of two-thirds, 22 Yes-12 No-1 Abstain, and a final up or down vote on South African Governor Minty as the "second candidate," which Minty lost by a vote of 15 Yes-19 No- 1 Abstain. There is no indication of which Board member may have shifted its vote between the first and second rounds from support of Amano to an abstention, but that shift had no bearing on the final result. The decisive factor was that Minty's blocking third of the vote held firm, denying Amano a victory. After the vote, Minty levied thinly veiled criticism at proponents of "change" who failed to support his candidacy and a threat of payback. With neither candidate able to secure two-thirds, the Board Chair wiped the slate clean and would circulate a new call for nominations on Monday March 30, with a deadline for nominations to be set "within four weeks" in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. Other Board members expressed concern about a deepening rift in the IAEA's governing body and the risk that substantive action on Iran, the budget and other matters will now be deferred by jockeying to succeed ElBaradei. End Summary. Japan Expected to Do Better -------------- ¶2. (C) Prior to the March 27 voting in the IAEA Board of Governors, Japan told like-minded delegations that after a final round of high-level calls and other lobbying efforts on March 26-27 directed at 20 Board members, it had received firm pledges from around 24 countries - "a little bit more." Amano himself discounted this prognostication and was not optimistic, since Japan had received more or less the same commitments prior to the previous day's balloting, which means "some are lying." Japan had encouraged Minty supporters to vote Yes or at least abstain in the "leading candidate" vote for Amano, and Amano had some expectation of the vote shifting in his favor. France reported on the basis of a demarche in Buenos Aires that Argentina would vote against Amano "due to South-South solidarity." Mexico also appeared to have supported Minty, and in an early March 27 phone call the Japanese reiterated the request for help in Mexico City. ¶3. (C) In the end, Amano was able to turn two to three countries, likely including Ghana, and increased his support from 20-21 votes on March 26 to 22-23 votes on March 27. The shift gave him an impressive majority in the first vote to determine the "leading candidate" but fell one vote short of the two-thirds required in the second ballot for Amano to win. The key factor was that Minty managed to hold on to the blocking one-third of the votes with no defections among his 12 core supporters in the second ballot, thus denying Amano a victory. If just one additional Minty supporter had shifted to a "Yes" vote or "Abstain," Amano would have won notwithstanding the other abstention. There was no shift in favor of Minty on the final "second candidate" ballot; he did not fare any better than the day before with only 15 affirmative votes in support, well short of two-thirds. Slate Wiped Clean -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Given that neither candidate had secured two-thirds, the Board Chair declared the slate wiped clean. She noted that candidates can be re-nominated. The Board Chair will circulate a note to Member States on March 30 to call for nominations "within four weeks" as prescribed by the Rules of Procedure. Asked by Brazil for more specificity on the nominations deadline, she reiterated the procedural rule. After the meeting, the Secretary of the Policy Making Organs indicated to Msnoff that the intention was to allow the full four weeks for nominations, meaning the deadline would be toward the end of April. Upon the closure of nominations, the Board Chair said she would hold informal consultations with a view toward identifying a consensus candidate, or failing that, organize a vote to allow for an appointment during the June Board of Governors meeting "at the latest." ¶5. (SBU) Assuming a late-April deadline, the next rounds of voting are likely to occur over the course of May. If, as expected, there are more than two candidates, the Chair may chose to conduct informal "straw polls" before organizing a vote. The formal voting would follow the same procedure as the first round on March 26-27, as outlined in GOV/2008/44. However, if there are multiple candidates, the voting would begin with a series of elimination rounds, with the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes being eliminated after each vote, until there are only two candidates left. Then the voting would proceed exactly as before: up to three rounds of voting, followed by votes on the "leading" and "second" candidates. Minty a Sore Loser, Promises Payback -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Asking for the floor at the end of the meeting, Minty assumed the mantle of champion of the "South." He expressed appreciation to the African Union and assured all those who voted for him that their support would not be forgotten. In thinly veiled criticism, Minty noted that he had hoped "those who advocated change in their relations with the developing world" would have put their ideas into practice by supporting him. Quoting Martin Luther King, he observed that change was not an inevitability but a result of constant struggle. Minty likened South Africa's own freedom struggle to the struggle to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and to this end he envisioned "dynamic new partnerships and coalitions." He acknowledged the importance of nonproliferation but promised vigilance to ensure developing countries are not denied access to nuclear technology. Minty concluded by noting that South Africa and its supporters would evaluate the results with a view toward facilitating the election of a new Director General, thus leaving the door open for his own re-nomination. ¶7. (C) Following the Board meeting, Minty denied to Ambassador Schulte that his comments were directed at the United States despite his emphatic reference to "change," and claimed that his disappointment was aimed at members of NEPAD, the AU and others who did not support him. The South African DCM was privately much more blunt about "consequences" of the vote against Minty in the NSG, NPT Revcon, on the issue of nuclear fuel supply assurances, and elsewhere. ¶8. (SBU) By contrast, a visibly shaken Amano delivered a short, low-key statement at the end of the meeting, thanking those who had put their trust in him and, noting the IAEA's tremendous tasks ahead, appealed for unity in meeting common goals. The deep rift that the vote exposed on the Board left many uncomfortable and worried about Agency business. The Ghanaian Charge, who voted for Amano on the 27th, argued that 23 was close enough to a consensus and suggested we should just not walk away from that. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) The race is now wide open. While numerous candidacies are being whispered about in the corridors, it remains to be seen how many of "pretenders" are actually nominated by April. By our last count, we have heard of five Europeans, three Latin Americans, and one Asian, in addition to Amano, as potential candidates. Although Japan has stated for nearly a year its intent to re-nominate Amano in this circumstance, he will be handicapped by his failure to succeed the first time around. On the other hand, Japan made an enormous investment in their candidate; Brazil, for instance, told us that Japanese PM Aso called President Lula the night of March 26th to appeal (unsuccessfully) for Brazil's abstention. France was also extremely active in working for Amano, and may be reluctant to change horses without a clear alternative to Minty. A strong Latin candidate would have a claim on equitable geographic representation, as no previous IAEA Director General has come from the region (also true of Asia),and because more broadly, GRULAC will be underrepresented at the helm of international organizations once OPCW head Rogelio Pfirter steps down. A Latin candidate from a G-77 country who can garner Western support could also mitigate the North-South dynamic that divides the Board and IAEA, as was demonstrated in the Amano-Minty showdown. SCHULTE