By Nick Mann | 16 February 2012  

A global coalition of more 50 charities and campaign groups has called for developing countries to be given a ‘central role’ in the selection process for the next president of the World Bank.

The current president, Robert Zoellick, announced yesterday that he would step down when his five-year term ends on June 30.

In an open letter to the governors of the World Bank, published after the announcement, the coalition called for an end to the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the US and Europe which means the president of the Bank is always an American and the managing director is European. The signatories include Oxfam, Action Aid and Christian Aid.

Instead, they say, there should be an ‘open, merit-based and transparent’ process, with the chosen candidate having the ‘legitimacy gained from the support of the wider World Bank membership, not just a powerful minority of countries’.

In particular, they said, the candidate must have open support from a majority of the World Bank’s member countries and not just a majority of voting shares. Currently, developing countries’ share of World Bank votes is diluted because they vote in groups, or shares, rather than individually.

‘As the Bank only operates in developing countries, and has most impact in low-income countries, any candidate that was not supported by these countries would seriously lack legitimacy,’ they said.

They added: ‘To make this work, countries would need to vote independently, not through their constituencies, and declare their support publicly. It is time for the US to publicly announce that it will no longer seek to monopolise the presidential position.’

The selection process should also be ‘significantly strengthened’, the letter explains, with the introduction of a public application procedure open to all, more time for proper deliberation, open voting and public interviews.

A clear job description and required qualifications should be set out. In particular, the president should have a strong understanding and experience of the particular problems facing the countries the World Bank is focused on helping.

Collins Magalesi, of African civil society group Afrodad, said: ‘It’s a World Bank, not a US bank. It needs the best candidate to get the job with support of wide Bank membership, not just the US.’

Announcing his plans to leave the post, Zoellick highlighted the impact of the $247bn the Bank has allocated during his tenure.

‘I’m very pleased that when the world needed the Bank to step up, our shareholders responded  with expanded resources and support for key reforms that made us quicker, more effective and more open,’ he said

‘The Bank is now strong, healthy and well positioned for new challenges, and so it is a natural time for me to move on and support new leadership.’