Malta's bid to assume the chairmanship of the Council of Europe Development Bank is still unresolved despite the fact that Malta obtained the highest number of votes in all the seven rounds of voting that took place over the last months.

Turkey's Orhan Guvenen and Malta's Joseph Licari are the only two candidates in the race.

During another poll held a few days ago, Ambassador Licari emerged as the clear winner with 24 of the 38 members of the Council of Europe backing him. However, this was still not enough as according to the bank's rules an absolute majority of member states and a two-thirds majority of the shareholders of the bank are necessary for election.

In view of this stalemate, which has been going on for the last six months, the bank's governing board decided to close the election procedure and to issue a fresh call for candidates. Malta is expected to contest the election again.

Sources told The Times that although Malta is clearly the preferred candidate for the post among the members of the Council of Europe, the big five member states - Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Turkey - which together hold the majority of shares in the bank are still preferring Turkey.

The sources said that during the coming weeks Malta's diplomatic efforts are expected to go on the offensive in order to persuade EU partners, particularly Italy and Spain, to change their voting pattern and support the Maltese candidate. The sources pointed out that Malta regularly votes for Italian, French, German and Spanish candidates at similar elections in international organisations and, therefore, the way these countries are preferring Turkey over Malta is considered to be quite "surprising".

Set up in 1956, the Council of Europe Development Bank is the oldest international financial institution in Europe and the only one with an exclusive social vocation. The CEB is the financial instrument of the policy of solidarity developed by the Council of Europe.

The CEB is a multilateral development bank placed under the supreme authority of the Council of Europe. It nevertheless has its own full legal status and financial autonomy. By granting loans, the bank participates in the financing of social projects, responds to emergency situations and contributes to improving living conditions and social cohesion in the less advantaged regions in Europe.

Malta has formed part of the CEB since 1973 and has a shareholding of 0.185 per cent.