Nicaragua to present candidate for OAS' top post
Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera said his country might propose its former foreign minister Ernesto Leal as the candidate for the post of secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), the local press on Thursday quoted official sources as saying.

"Leal is qualified to assume the secretary general of the OAS, "Caldera said, adding that Nicaragua was making a survey among members of the OAS if the country could propose a candidate for the top post of the hemispherical organization.

The OAS failed to elect a new secretary general as the two front-runners -- Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez tied in a Monday polling, each snapping 17 votes after five rounds of voting.

A majority of 18 votes is needed to win the post of the 35-member OAS, a forum for human rights, international crime and security concerns for American countries.

The organization's former secretary general, former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez, resigned last October one month after taking the post to face corruption charges back in Costa Rica.

Another OAS session will be held on May 2. Delegates at Monday's meeting said new nominees may emerge during the interim.

Nicaragua planned in early October last year to propose Leal as its candidate for the OAS chief, but decided later to give support to former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores, who failed to get enough support and withdrew last Friday.