Thus far, all Security Council deliberations have gone on behind closed doors. Ban has not testified before any committees, he has not stood before an international press corps and he has not been made to explain his position on key issues in an open, public forum.

During the last two weeks Ban has been in South Korea, far from the deliberations taking place in New York, and it is not clear if he will appear at U.N. World Headquarters in New York Monday, when the Security Council vote on his nomination is expected.

Members of the council have similarly not been made to explain their grounds for supporting Ban in any formal arena.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Japanese Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, who holds the Security Council presidency for October, said the selection process could stand to be reformed -- but that that reform would come after the next secretary-general is chosen. "I do not deny that there might be further room for improvement," Oshima said.

The U.N. secretary-general is appointed for a five-year term and commands more than 30,000 U.N. employees worldwide, an annual budget of almost $2 billion, and enjoys the world body's bullying pulpit.

Ban appears to be something of a compromise candidate between China and the United States -- countries that, on the council, seldom march in step. China has long insisted the next secretary-general be an Asian, while the United States, which is the world organization's most significant source of funds, wants a secretary-general that is sensitive toward American interests.

Ban is widely viewed as a competent, experienced diplomat, but one who lacks the charisma and diplomatic finesse required to steer the world organization through a series of major bureaucratic reforms, which could, among other things, include the enlargement of the Security Council.

Ban, who earned a graduate degree from Harvard University and was twice assigned to South Korea's Washington embassy, has been criticized as being in the pocket of the United States.

It's an assertion China's U.N. ambassador Wang Guangya Monday attempted to sweep aside.

"I think definitely the United States is the most important member of the United Nations, but since this organization has 192 members, I think each member should be counted and therefore we have to respect the major powers but also respect the positions, concerns of the smaller countries," Wang told U.N. reporters Monday in New York.

Wang was also asked if Ban is simply a lowest common denominator agreement between the two powerful Security Council members.

"I think that he is (an) experienced one. He is low key but very firm, and he's decisive. But I think sometimes the Asians show their quality in a different way. So I do hope that he will be a good candidate for the job of secretary-general," the Chinese ambassador said.

For his part, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who has been urging the council to act as soon as possible to ensure a lengthy transition, said Monday the United States had "a lot of respect" for Ban and knows him well from his service in Washington and at the United Nations.

Ban has commanded a strong lead in each of the four straw polls held since July 24, in which members vote "encourage" "discourage" or "no opinion."

Monday's poll was the most telling, since it included colored ballots signifying whether votes came from permanent members, which could signal a veto. Ban was the clear winner, with 14 positive votes, no negative votes and one vote of no opinion.

Every other candidate received at least one negative vote from a permanent member, meaning that, if chosen, their nominations could be blocked.

Following the vote, the second-place candidate, India's Shashi Tharoor, the undersecretary-general for public information, congratulated Ban but stopped short of withdrawing his name from the race. Tharoor had received 10 positive votes and 3 negatives, of which one came from a permanent member.

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