Two candidacies have been submitted for the election of the next Director-General. They are, Ms. Mar a Nieves Roldan-Confesor of the Philippines and Mr. Juan Somav a of Chile, both submitted by their respective governments. Ms. Confesor is currently a Presidential Adviser for Human Resource Development and International Labour Affairs, Office of the President of the Government of the Philippines and holds the rank of Cabinet Minister. Mr. Somav a is currently Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York and served as Chile's Representative to the Security Council between 1996-97. Under ILO procedures, the 56 titular members of the Governing Body are entitled to vote.
Voting is by secret ballot.
To be elected, a candidate must receive the votes of more than one-half of the members of the Governing Body entitled to vote. It is the executive arm of the ILO and takes decisions on the implementation of ILO policies and programmes. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining members are elected for three years by governments, workers and employers respectively, taking account of regional distribution.