Zurab Pololikashvili loses third term as head of UNWTO

In an attempt to re-elected for a third term and automatically blocking the possibility of electing other candidates, Zurab Pololikashvili, current secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), failed to obtain two-thirds of the votes of the Executive Council to remain at the head of the organization until 2029 as proposed by the government of Uzbekistan.

Of the 111 representatives of the Member States who attended the 25th UNWTO General Assembly, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 65 voted in favor, 38 against, 7 abstained and one annulled his vote.

Pololikashvili wanted to be re-elected for a third term, which would run from January 1, 2026 to January 21, 2029. Although there is an amendment that seeks limit the mandate of a secretary general to two periods, which was ratified by various countries, including Mexico.

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* Mexico surprised with its letter, which shows that it acted without understanding the amendment previously signed so that a secretary general of the UNWTO cannot extend his mandate for more than two terms.

In fact, The country caused surprise among the member states of the UNWTO for wanting to retract that amendment through a letter sent by the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco.

I hereby request that Mexico's support be conveyed to all Member States, as well as to world tourism leaders from the public and private sectors, local authorities, universities and media present at the Assembly. to the proposal of Uzbekistan regarding the renewal of the mandate of His Excellency Secretary General. "Mexico supports the proposal, with a view to continuing to strengthen our bilateral relationship and ties of mutual cooperation, in order to ensure the continuity of joint work tasks, as well as to endorse the efforts it led before and after the pandemic," indicates the document that was copied to the chancellor Alicia Bárcena and the ambassador of Mexico in Spain, Quirino Ordaz, and from which Excelsior has a copy.

Mexico was the only country on the list of the ten most visited globally that supported Pololikashvili's re-election. Among the nations that also sent letters to support Uzbekistan's proposal were Lebanon, Yemen, Haiti, Paraguay, Colombia, South Africa, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Jordan, Zambia, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Tajikistan, Guatemala, Uruguay, Ecuador, Congo , Ivory Coast and Georgia.

According to the government of Uzbekistan, the proposal to re-elect Pololikashvili was related to the interruption suffered by the official's work schedule due to the covid-19 pandemic.

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*mcam