ADB opens voting for next president

Governors are invited to vote on Asakawa’s candidacy by 30 November 2019.

More than a month after President Takehiko Nakao announced his resignation, the Manila-based multilateral lending bank Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday opened voting for its next president.

ADB presidents are nominated from among its regional members and elected by its Board of Governors.

Nominations were accepted from ADB Governors from 1 to 31 October 2019, the bank said.

Regional member countries account for 65.04 percent of the voting power while non-regional members have 34.96 percent.

Meanwhile, Japan and the United States have the equal voting power of 12.756 percent each, followed by China with 5.442 percent; India, 5.352 percent; and Australia, 4.917 percent.

Masatsugu Asakawa, currently a Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, is the sole nominee for the position.

If the board of governors elect Asakawa, he will be the 10th ADB president.

A report by the Japan Times, it said Japan is hoping to retain the ADB presidency. Since the bank was established in 1966, the position has been held by a Japanese officer.

Governors are invited to vote on Asakawa’s candidacy by 30 November 2019. The result of the election is scheduled to be announced on 2 December 2019.

Nakao resigned in September although his term still has two years to run.