The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban-Ki-moon, is set to step down at the end of 2016 after two six-year terms, and four of the eight candidates vying for the position are women. The figure reduced to three when Croatian nominee, Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic dropped out in the preliminary stages. There is also no deadline for joining the race and according to the Associated Press, there are rumours that the Vice President of the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could make strong late entries.

For the first time in its 70-year history, the UN will see candidates for the role of Secretary-General make their pitch to the public. The interview will be broadcast on the UN’s webcast site in what they describe as the “job interview in front of the whole world.” The contenders will have a two-hour slot to present their case to the General Assembly, made up of 193 member states and observers. They will also answer questions thrown at them. In a sharp contrast to previous contests for the role, where candidates and the governments backing them usually campaigned behind closed doors, this selection process will be more transparent.

Natalia Gherman, (Moldova)

The senior diplomat from Moldova is the daughter of the first president of the country, Mircea Snegur. Her application letter reveals that she was selected in 2014 by The Guardian UK, as one of the “seven most impressive women to watch in global politics who are leading change all over the world.” She’s served as the country’s foreign minister and worked as an ambassador in numerous European countries. According to the Guardian, Gherman’s main involvement with the UN has been to push its agenda on development, with a focus on human rights and gender equality.                                                            

Irina Bokova (Bulgaria)

The Bulgarian Director-General of UNESCO is considered as one of the favourites in the race as she has managed a big UN institution for seven years and has friendly relations with Moscow (to which many believe she will be sympathetic, having grown up in a true-believer communist household.) According to the Financial Times, the UN has an informal rotation system for the Secretary-General, and it is widely expected that the next chief will come from Eastern Europe. She is particularly focused on conflict prevention and peace-building before violence breaks out. “We should anticipate potential conflicts and tackle the causes, not just remedy the outcomes,” she said speaking to Time magazine.

Helen Clark (New Zealand)

Helen Clark is the former New Zealand Prime Minster who held power for close to a decade (1999-2008). She has been the Head of the UN Development Programme for seven years, and is also the first woman to hold that position. Her experience, both as Prime Minister and UNDP Administrator, makes her well-suited to handle the pressure that comes with leading the global body.

Notably, no African woman featured on this list and Africans can only hope that the next round of elections produces representatives from the continent. The outcome of this election will affect the African continent directly as it will have implications on the direction the international body takes in conflict resolution. Burundi, South Sudan and the Central African Republic are some of the African countries experiencing violence and civil unrest and the UN’s response thus far has been unsatisfactory. The outcome of the election will not only impact how crises are managed in these countries, but also the potential identification and prevention of future crises before they degenerate.