UNITED NATIONS, Aug 17: The UN Security Council has decided to postpone the selection process for the new Secretary General of the world body replacing the incumbent Kofi Annan, who will retire at the end of this year, the President of the Council announced on Wednesday.

“The council has decided not to conduct a straw poll this month, in absence of any new candidate,” the President of the 15-member Security Council for the month of August, Nana Effah-Apenteng, of Ghana told reporters. The Council was scheduled to take up the issue this week.

There are four candidates in the run for the top job at the world body. Last month in a straw poll of the four candidates, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon had the best score.

Ban, a career diplomat who once served at South Korea’s UN mission, received 12 “encourages”, one “discourage”, and two “no opinions”. That result instantly installed him as the early front-runner to become the world’s diplomat-in-chief.

UN Undersecretary-General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor came in second. Tharoor, a British-born Indian, received 10 “encourages”, two “discourages” and three “no opinions”.

Finishing far back were Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and former UN disarmament official Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka.

However, if a new candidate files papers with the Security Council to be considered for the job, the council will revisit the selection process. Nevertheless the Council will hold straw polls in September and October before it sends its choice to the UN General Assembly for approval.