WASHINGTON, Aug 23: The two publicly announced candidates to lead the International Monetary Fund will be invited to Washington for consultations shortly, the IMF said on Thursday.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters that both candidates -- a former French finance minister and a Russian-backed former Czech premier -- would be invited to the Fund’s headquarters for talks after the deadline for nominations to be submitted closes on August 31.

“The board has made clear that candidates can be nominated by anyone and can come from any country within the Fund's membership,” Rice said.

Russia on Wednesday challenged an EU monopoly on selecting the head of the IMF -- which seeks to maintain global financial stability -- by nominating former Czech premier and ex-central bank chief Josef Tosovsky.

The emergence of a Moscow-backed nominee throws a direct challenge to the European Union’s choice candidate, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and an unwritten agreement.

The agreement has enabled European countries to traditionally select the head of the IMF and the United States to choose the president of the World Bank.

Developing countries have criticised the cosy arrangement and called for open competition for such influential posts.

The Russian finance ministry said on Wednesday that developing countries, including Brazil, China and India, wanted the new IMF managing director to be chosen “on a competitive basis.”

Rice declined to comment on the two rivals' capabilities, but stressed that the nomination process “would be open and transparent.”

The IMF’s board of executive directors -- which represent the IMF member countries on a basis weighted by their IMF shares -- will pick the Fund's next leader. —AFP