Jeremic in second place after second round of UN vote

Jeremic in second place after second round of UN vote

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres received 11 affirmative, two negative and two abstained votes.

Argentina's Susana Malcorra received eight affirmative, six negative and one abstained vote.

The Politico website reported that the Argentinian candidate "widely believed to have U.S. backing" is rising quickly in the rankings, having jumped from eighth in the July 21 informal poll to third on Friday.

Slovenia's Danilo Turk now received seven affirmative, five negative and three abstained votes, while Bulgaria's Irina Bokova, the current UNESCO secretary general, had seven affirmative, seven negative and one abstained vote.

New Zealand's Helen Clark received six affirmative, eight negative and one abstained vote.

"I think we have reason to be very pleased with the outcome of the voting. In the first round, we showed that we enjoy broad support from UNSC members. The second round confirmed that the support is pretty steady - based on the conviction that Serbia is suitable to perform the most important job in international relations - not on tactical calculations," Jeremic said, adding:

"The most important part of this complex process is yet ahead, we continue with our comprehensive activities."