When UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvil was elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021 thanks to manipulation. His attempt to be appointed to a third term without an election would have been a plot.
Ministers attending the UNWTO Geneal Assembly faced suspicious events was the title of an article published in eTurboNews last night, or rather early in the morning, Uzbekistan time.
This was after this publication received more detailed inside information from a group of brave whistleblowers who exposed the attempt by the UNWTO legal team under the leadership of Secretary General Zurab Polikashvil to mislead tourism ministers attending the General Assembly in Uzbekistan.
A vote of no confidence for the UNWTO SG
At the end of the day, democracy had spoken, and this attempt by the SG was eliminated in a vote that some say was a vote of no confidence in the secretary general.
The well-planned move by Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili together with his legal team to deceive the delegates and stay in power went even further. In fact, he attempted to be re-elected instead of re-elected without election to his position as Secretary General from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2029, XNUMX.
It was no longer a decision about the two-term limit that Spain and other countries put on the table several years ago. Many countries relied on the two-term rule when they elected Zurab in 2.
After Zurab managed to so confuse the Executive Council about opening the doors for him for a third term, a different and unexpected explosive question was presented to the ministers attending the general elections in Uzbekistan.
- Do you agree with the recommendation of the 119th session of the Executive Council that Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili be appointed Secretary-General of the Organization to serve from January 1, 2026 to December 2029?
- Ask UNWTO Member Countries attending the General Assembly
The decision was not only designed to circumvent the two-term limit by confusing delegates, but also to go a step further. Zurab wanted to completely eliminate competition and also elections, so that he could remain in power until the end of 2 and possibly beyond.
Similar confusion ensued over why this secretary general was elected for a second term in 2021. He had eliminated the competition except for a candidate from Bahrain who intervened unprepared and at the last minute.
Zurab quietly accomplished this in 2021 by changing the rules to shorten rather than extend the time limit for other candidates to run and run against him. He took advantage of the COVID pandemic.
Two open letters published in 2021 as part of a World Tourism Network promotional campaign and signed by two previous UNWTO secretaries general, such as Dr. Taleb Rifai did not stop this plot to have Zurab continue with an unfair electoral process in 2021.
For an illegal third term, the SG wanted to completely eliminate elections
Zurab had everything planned for Uzbekistan. He brought two private planes with friends and government workers on board to press his unforeseen bid to become the United Nations system’s first dictator.
His administration created chaos in Uzbekistan by constantly changing the agenda, prompting one minister to tell eTurboNews : The protocol sucks!!
He traveled around the world to present awards and get ministers to support him.
Zurab Pololikashvili lost today
The world has spoken when 65 countries voting in favor, 38 against, 7 abstentions and one null vote did not give Zurab the 2/3 of the votes necessary for this measure to move forward.
Faced with this question in Uzbekistan, Germany spoke out against this measure.
Last week Jürgen Steinmetz contacted the German delegation. Steinmetz is the president of the Global Tourism Network who led the promotional campaign that resulted in two open letters written by the two former UNWTO Secretaries General Dr. Taleb Rifai and Francesco frangialli in 2021 against Pololikashvili’s maneuvers. Even after this letter, the manipulations that began in the 2017 electoral process continued with the presentation of the former SG in this WTN promotional campaign, and have continued to this day.
Today there is a possibility that the manipulations of the UNWTO structure could come to an end.
WTN President Steinmetz said: “I am proud that the German delegation yesterday made a statement against this fraud, helping to prevent this plot from taking place at a United Nations agency in charge of global travel and tourism. This is a giant step forward for democracy and will hopefully wake up those who still voted in favor of this attempt by the Secretary General to deceive the trust placed in him in leading this organisation.
“I also hope that Mr. Pololikashvili will make the honorable decision to resign from his position immediately.”
Eliminating elections entirely to remain in this position for 4 more years without any other candidate able to campaign AND removing the two term restriction is something that should not be tolerated in the UN system.
The plot was supported by Georgia, a country seeking to join the European Union.
It is especially questionable for a candidate from Georgia, a country seeking entry into the European Community and which has dealt with corruption for many years.
The UNWTO organization Secretary General broke the rules and should resign UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvil broke the rules and cheated. This vote today should be seen as a vote of no confidence
