Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano won a vote at the United Nations on Thursday to become the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Amano is expected to replace current IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei.

The vote was conducted among the 35 members of the IAEA board. Twenty-three voted for Amano, 11 supported rival candidate Abdul Minty of South Africa, and one abstained.

In a first round of voting last month, which included Spanish candidate Luis Echavarri, Amano received 20 votes, Minty received 10 and Echavarri four.

The board had voted in March as well, but no candidate won the necessary two-thirds support at that time.

While votes were not made public, diplomats told reporters that Amano had received support from wealthy nations, while developing nations generally preferred Minty. Some praised Amano as less political than his predecessor, ElBaradei.

ElBaradei will step down later this year, after serving as head of the IAEA since 1997. Israel has accused him of bias in favor of Syria and Iran, suggesting that the agency head took a soft approach on alleged nuclear activity in both countries.

ElBaradei recently accused IAEA donor nations of causing his agency to be ineffective, warning that budgetary limitations could cause an international catastrophe.