UNITED NATIONS: The International Criminal Court’s 123 member countries on Friday began voting in New York to elect a new chief prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal, a grueling post whose current holder is under US sanctions.

Four candidates from Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain are vying to replace Fatou Bensouda, who has led controversial probes into Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2012.

Britain’s Karim Khan is said to be in pole position for a nine-year term as prosecutor ahead of Carlos Castresana of Spain, Ireland’s Fergal Gaynor and Italy’s Francesco Lo Voi, according to British media reports.

The ICC’s member states failed to reach a consensus despite several attempts in recent weeks, and were thus voting on the new prosecutor at the UN headquarters in New York.

An absolute majority of 62 votes is needed. The United Nations has 193 member states, but dozens are not members of the ICC, including the United States and Israel.