Five vying for IAEA top job in second-round vote

By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA, April 28 (Reuters) - Five diplomats from Europe, Africa and Asia will vie to succeed U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei in a second-round election after an inconclusive initial vote, officials said on Tuesday.

It was doubtful whether any would be able to garner the 2/3 majority in the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation governing body needed for victory without some dropping out to avoid fragmenting the election returns, diplomats said.

The IAEA director-general's post is a key global appointment since the agency aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, with Iran's disputed atomic programme under investigation, and promote peaceful uses of atomic energy in the developing world.

Algeria, current chairman of the IAEA's Board of Governors, circulated candidates' credentials to fellow missions after the expiry of Monday's deadline for nominations.

In a confidential note obtained by Reuters, Algerian Ambassador Taous Feroukhi told other governors she would soon begin consultations on the nominees.

Diplomats said this was to assess which contenders had a real chance of victory and nudge others to bow out, possibly by using straw polls ahead of the election expected in late May.

ElBaradei retires in November but IAEA governors want his successor chosen months before to ensure a smooth handover with U.N. nuclear inspectors embroiled in investigations of Iran and Syria and the agency struggling to resolve a budget crisis.

The candidates are: