Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency now have four weeks to nominate new candidates, with a new election expected some time in May, said the agency.

“The slate of candidates is considered to have been wiped clean,” the chairwoman of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board, Taous Feroukhi, told reporters after a crunch vote between Yukiya Amano of Japan or Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa produced no clear winner.

“Neither candidate was able to enjoy the two-thirds majority” needed, Feroukhi told AFP.

A note would therefore be officially circulated to member states next Monday, giving them 28 days to present new candidates, said the agency.