The Norwegian Nobel Committee has received 259 nominations for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, breaking the record of 241 set in 2011. One of the candidates this year is also the youngest on record, after 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan was nominated for defying the Taliban and getting shot for it.
The Nobel Committee never comments on specific nominees, reporting only the total number and the breakdown of individuals and organizations. This year, according to the committee, 50 of the Peace Prize candidates are organizations.
The total number of nominations will quickly be whittled down to a short list and then cut as well to those candidates who will be seriously considered by the five-member committee that’s appointed by the Norwegian Parliament under the terms of Alfred Nobel’s will. The prize winner is usually announced on the second Friday of October (October 11 this year), and the prize is always awarded on December 10th, the anniversary of the death of prize benefactor and Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel.
While the committee won’t reveal the identities of Peace Prize candidates, those nominating them may do so. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that among them this year is young Malala Yousafzai, who continues to recover from wounds sustained when an alleged member of the Taliban shot her in the head while she was riding on a school bus. She had been actively speaking out about the rights of girls to attend school, and NRK reported she now has been nominated by Members of Parliament in France, Canada and Norway.
Other candidates reportedly include the reform-minded president of Myanmar, Thein Sein, who recently made an official visit to Norway, along with jailed human rights activist Ales Bjaljatski of Belarus and Ludmila Alexejeva, leader of the Helsinki Committee in Russia, both of whom have been nominated before.
NRK reported that Bradley Manning, jailed in the US on charges of handing over classified documents to Wikileaks, and Kurdish activist Leyla Zana are also among candidates for the prize. Among the nominated organizations is the international vaccine fund GAVI.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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