New York, Dhu-AlQa'dah 02, 1437, August 05, 2016, SPA -- Vesna Pusic, Croatia's candidate for UN secretary general, withdrew her candidacy Thursday for the top UN post, becoming the first of 12 hopefuls to drop out of the race, according to dpa. Pusic's decision comes before the UN Security Council is set to hold the second round Friday in secret straw polls to gauge the council's support for each candidate. Pusic said that the first round of voting at the council showed that "the selection has not gone in my direction," in a letter addressed to Mogens Lykketoft, president of the UN General Assembly, and Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, president of the Security Council. "I would like to facilitate the continuation of this process by withdrawing my candidacy for the next secretary general of the UN," Pusic said. The UN is electing its next secretary general, as current UN chief Ban Ki-moon's second term is ending this year. --SPA 01:09 LOCAL TIME 22:09 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w