The Congolese candidate for UNESCO presidency, Firmin Edouard Matoko, has been actively campaigning for weeks between the organization’s headquarters in Paris and the United Nations corridors in New York, competing against Egyptian Khaled El-Anany, currently the frontrunner for the leadership of the UN agency concerned with education, science, and culture.

The election will be held on November 6 to select the new Director-General of UNESCO, succeeding the French Audrey Azoulay, during a General Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. However, the candidates’ attention is focused on October 6, the date when the Executive Board votes to recommend one of the two names. This vote is crucial as the General Assembly has never been known to contradict the Executive Board’s recommendation in this matter.

Firmin Edouard Matoko, who has worked at UNESCO since 1990, said, “When the Executive Board does not recommend a candidate’s name, that candidate should go home and redraw their professional future.”

Since the withdrawal of Mexican candidate Gabriela Ramos, only two remain in the race: 69-year-old Matoko, currently Deputy Director-General in charge of external relations, and former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities and Tourism Khaled El-Anany, a 54-year-old Egyptologist.

El-Anany announced his candidacy in April 2023 and is considered the frontrunner compared to his Congolese rival, who submitted his nomination in March, just two days before the deadline.

According to a European diplomat, El-Anany outperformed his rival by a wide margin during the candidate hearings held by the Executive Board in April, and another diplomat familiar with the organization believes the election result is already decided.

However, the Republic of Congo has mobilized all its efforts to change this expected outcome. At least three ministers, including Donny Christel Sassou Nguesso, son of President Donny Sassou Nguesso and Minister of International Cooperation, toured the Gulf, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean to rally support.

Sassou Nguesso, who visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman in September, said, “The matter is not yet decided; the election is still open,” adding to AFP that Egypt has begun to feel concerned about the Congolese competition.

Congo claims to have secured the support of several African countries (13 seats on the Executive Board), while Egypt backs its position with three African Union resolutions endorsing its candidacy.

Meanwhile, El-Anany’s camp relies on official statements from the Arab League and several countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia supporting his nomination.

One member of his team said, “We do not feel we are facing a fierce competition,” refusing to respond to statements from the opposing camp.

El-Anany, surrounded by a team of seven, believes he has visited 65 countries, holding 400 meetings and interviews during his 30-month campaign. Matoko responds, “It doesn’t take visiting 70 countries to introduce oneself,” recalling that he spent 30 years of his career traveling between Africa, South America, and Paris.

Last week, Matoko went to New York, where presidents, kings, and diplomats from around the world gathered at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Khaled El-Anany stayed in Paris near UNESCO missions, advocating that this time the organization’s presidency should go to an Arab country.