text: Four Africans said to vie for top U. N. post. Evelyn Leopold 
   UNITED NATIONS 1996-12-06 
   Four African states are ready to nominate candidates for the post of U. N. secretary-general on Friday now that Boutros Boutros-Ghali has temporarily put aside his bid for re-election. The nominees, according to diplomats, are: Kofi Annan of Ghana, the U. N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping; Ahmedou Ould Abdallah of Mauritania, the former U. N. special envoy for Burundi; Amara Essy of the Ivory Coast, its foreign minister and the U. N. General Assembly president in 1994-95; and Hamid Algabid of Niger, the secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Representatives of the U. N. missions of Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Niger have scheduled a meeting with Security Council president Paolo Fulci of Italy to hand in the nominations in writing, the envoys said. It was not known if other candidates would step forward. Diplomats said General Joseph Garba of Nigeria, a U. N. General Assembly president in 1989-90, was putting forth his own candidacy without being nominated by his country. Boutros-Ghali on Wednesday opened the door for other Africans to contest his job by saying he was suspending temporarily his candidacy but was not withdrawing completely from the race. His supporters said this meant he remained a candidate in case the race reached an impasse. The United States on Nov. 19 vetoed his bid for re-election while the other 14 Security Council members supported him. The move by the African states means that the council could begin voting on candidates next week, a procedure that could either result in a decision or turn into a bitter fight with vetoes against each nominee. The Security Council has to vote on a new secretary-general and then seek the endorsement of the 185-members General Assembly before December 31 when Boutros-Ghali's term expires.
competitors: Africans U.N. Evelyn Leopold UNITED NATIONS African U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali Kofi Annan Ghana U.N. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah Mauritania U.N. Burundi Amara Essy Ivory Coast U.N. General Assembly Hamid Algabid Niger Organisation of the Islamic Conference U.N. Ghana Ivory Coast Mauritania Niger Security Council Paolo Fulci Italy Joseph Garba Nigeria U.N. General Assembly Boutros-Ghali Africans United States Security Council African Security Council General Assembly Boutros-Ghali