Baltic supporters of Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga’s bid to become the next secretary general of the United Nations are looking ahead to the next straw poll expected this week during a meeting of the Security Council in New York.

The Security Council, which will decide who is to replace Kofi Annan as secretary general of the world body, is expected to take another straw poll on Sept. 28. The council’s members include Russia and China, both likely opponents of Vīķe-Freiberga’s candidacy. While not binding, the straw poll should give an indication of who the front-runner is.

The American Latvian Association and the Baltic Association to the United Nations, as well as the president’s supporters in Latvia, have been organizing online petitions and other activities to promote Vīķe-Freiberga. She is the only woman among seven announced candidates for the position. Vīķe-Freiberga, rumored for months as potential canidadate for Annan’s job, announced Sept. 15 that she wants to be considered for the post.

The New York-based BATUN on its Web site notes that no woman has ever led the United Nations and that no one from Eastern Europe has held the post. BATUN also points to the president’s poltical and diplomatic experience, including serving as a special envoy for Annan’s reform efforts.

Valdis Pavlovskis, head of ALA’s Information Office, in an e-mail urged supporters of the president to sign an online petition and to contact members of the U.S. Congress about the president’s candidacy.

Both BATUN and ALA are encouraging Baltic-Americans to sign an online petition at www.chooseawomanforun.org. The petition, which had been signed by more than 9,000 people by Sept. 26, was set up by French supporters of picking a woman to lead the United Nations.

Annan’s term as secretary general expires at the end of this year. Vīķe-Freiberga is in her second term as president of Latvia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a Sept. 23 press conference in New York, reaffirmed his country’s position that the next secretary general should come from Asia.

People interested in learning about candidates, candidate lists and party platforms for the Oct. 7 Latvian parliamentary election may now visit any of the nine polling stations in the United States, the Embassy of Latvia in Washington, D.C., has announced.

The polling stations will be open from Sept. 27 through Oct. 6 for visitors to peruse the information.

By location, the dates and times are:

• Washington, D.C.: Visitors may call at the Embassy of Latvia, 2306 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 2-6. Visitors also may call at the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Washington, 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, Md., from 6-10 p.m. Sept. 30 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1.
• Chicago: Visitors may call at the Latvian House, 4146 N. Elston Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 2-5. Visitors may also call from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 30 at the official polling station in the Zion Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 6551 W. Montrose Ave. On Oct. 1, election information will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the polling station as well as in the St. Peter Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 450 Forest Preserve Dr., Wood Dale; in the Chicago Latvian Baptist Church, 820 Ontario, Oak Park, and in the Chicago Latvian Catholic Church, 1655 N. Rockwell, Chicago.
• Los Angeles: Visitors may call at the Latvian Community Center, 1955 Riverside Drive, from 5-9 p.m. Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 2-3, from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1, from 6-11 p.m. Oct. 4 and 6, from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 5.
• Seattle: Visitors may call at the Latvian Center, 11710 3rd Ave. N.E., from 5-9 p.m. Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 2-6, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
• Cleveland: Visitors may call at the United Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church, 1385 Andrews Ave., Lakewood, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Sept. 27-30 and Oct. 1, 2, 4 and 5; from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 3, and from 4-8 p.m. Oct. 6.
• St. Petersburg, Fla.: Visitors may call at the Latvian American Center, 1705 9th Ave. N., from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 27-Oct. 6.
• Minneapolis: Visitors may call at the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Minneapolis and St. Paul, 3152 17th Ave. S., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27-30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 1, and from 4-8 p.m. Oct. 2-6.
• Boston: Visitors may call at the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran “Trimda” Church of Boston, 58 Irving St., Brookline, from 4-8 p.m. Sept. 27, Sept. 29 and Oct. 3, 5, and 6; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 28, Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, and from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 2.
• New York: Vistors may call at the Latvian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, 333 East 50th St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27-Oct. 6.

Information about the candidates and party platform also is available in text and audio formats on the Web site of the Central Election Commission in Rīga, www.cvk.lv.

On election day, Oct. 7, polling stations in Latvia and abroad will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. A total of 53 polling stations will operate outside of Latvia.

The number of Latvian citizens requesting absentee ballots for the Oct. 7 parliamentary election more than doubled in the last 11 days before the application deadline, according to the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

A total of 557 applications were received by embassies and consulates around the world by the Sept. 15 deadline, according to commission data.

In the United States, the number of applications almost tripled in the last 11 days. Only 80 applications had been received by Sept. 4 in the Embassy of Latvia in Washington, D.C. By deadline, the number stood at 230.

Citizens abroad will still be able to vote in person at 53 polling stations that will operate in many countries on Oct. 7.

The election commission and Latvian community leaders abroad earlier acknowledged that the absentee ballot process, which required submitting one’s passport to an embassy or consulate, may have deterred some potential voters. In the United States, the American Latvian Association campaigned during the last two weeks to get more citizens to apply for absentee ballots.

Applications for absentee ballots were accepted in 38 embassies or consulates.

No applications were received in Argentina, Austria, China, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey or Venezuela. One application was received in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Portugal. Two applications were received in Belarus, Israel and Ukraine. Four applications were received in Finland, Norway and Switzerland.

Eight applications were received by the Embassy of Latvia in Denmark. Belgium and Brazil each recorded nine applications. France had 12, as did Ireland, but community leaders there anticipate that many of the 20,000-plus Latvian citizens will vote on election day in either Dublin or Cork.

The highest numbers of applications were received in countries, like the United States, that for years have had the largest and most active Latvian communities. The second highest total was in Germany, where 111 applications were received in the embassy in Berlin and the consulate in Bonn. The number of applications reaching Berlin by the deadline more than quadrupled between Sept. 4 and 15, growing from 18 to 81, according to election commission data.

Sweden accounted for 43 applications, just ahead of Australia, which recorded 42. Great Britain had 30 applications. Canada had 29.