Two men are battling for the position -- Japanese ambassador Yukiya Amano, 61, and Abdul Samad Minty, 69, of South Africa. And diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency say that Amano, favoured by industrialised Western states, is the front-runner.

But it is still by no means certain that he will be able to garner sufficient votes to secure the two-thirds majority needed to win, the diplomats added.

Amano may be just one or two votes short of the 24 votes needed, while Minty can count on five or six votes. Six or seven countries are still undecided or are not prepared to say who they will vote for, diplomats familiar with the consultations told AFP on condition of anonymity.

There are 35 votes in all, one for each country on the IAEA's board of governors. In a closed-door session, known as the "selection stage", on Thursday, up to three informal rounds of voting -- each a secret ballot -- are held.

If one of the candidates secures the necessary two-thirds, then the board will move on Friday to the so-called "appointment stage", where the board chairman proposes the candidate for appointment by the board.

The appointment is then formally approved by the IAEA's general conference in September.

But the voting procedure could become more convoluted and complex if neither Amano, nor Minty -- who is seen as the favourite candidate of developing nations -- manages to get the two-thirds majority.

If that is the case, then a further round of voting will be held on Friday to determine the so-called "leading candidate" on the basis of a simple majority.

The board then votes on the leading candidate, and since abstentions do not count, the candidate can win with fewer than 24 votes as long as they still have two thirds of votes expressing a preference.

If they fail, then the race could be opened up again for new nominations.

Egyptian-born ElBaradei has never shied away from controversy and has locked horns in the past with Western capitals, and Washington in particular, over the role of the UN watchdog.

The UNited States has accused him of being too "soft" on Iran and overstepping his mandate.

Indeed, during his 12 years at the agency's helm, the post of director general has become one of the high profile of all international organisations, perhaps second in stature only to the UN secretary general.

ElBaradei's successor faces a daunting task: the agency's long-running investigation into Iran's contested nuclear programme is in deadlock; there has been little or no progress in a fledgling probe into alleged illicit nuclear work by Syria; and the world is currently experiencing a "nuclear renaissance" which brings with it all sorts of proliferation challenges.

The agency is also seeking a "significant" increase in funding from its member states over the next two years in order to carry out its duties effectively.

Both Amano and Minty have long experience in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament.

But critics say that Amano is a reserved techocrat who lacks charisma, while Minty is perceived by some Western countries as being too outspoken.

"Neither is really seen as the ideal candidate," said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But another noted: "There really can never be a perfect candidate, one who enjoys support across the entire board."

Amano argues he is qualified for the job because Japan is the only country in the world to have experienced an atomic bomb.

Minty sees the strength of his candidacy in the fact that South Africa has experience of "first-world nuclear technology", but is "also a country of the south" that has a tradition of consensus.

"The main thing is not to let this become a protracted and messy affair. Most countries want the succession race to be wrapped up fairly quickly so as not to detract from the really big issues facing the IAEA," one diplomat said.

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