Five candidates, including three - and possibly four - incumbents, are in the fray for the Associate Members' Director positions on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board. The election will be held during the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh next month.

The candidates are Mubashir Usmani (UAE), Mahinda Vallipuram (Malaysia), Gurumurthy Palani (France), Dr Rudie van Vuuren (Namibia) and Imran Khwaja (Singapore). The last-named, of course, is the deputy chair of the world body. Neil Speight of Bermuda and Sankar Renganathan of Sierra Leone were also expected to enter the race, but it has emerged that only five are in the fray after the June 7 nominations day.

While Usmani, Vallipuram and Khwaja are sitting ICC directors, Palani is the current Associate Members' representative on the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC). Forty-three Associate Members will elect the three directors, who will serve on the all-powerful ICC Board for a two-year term. The election and counting of votes will take place on July 8.

With Associate nations performing well in ICC tournaments, particularly at the recent Twenty20 World Cup, increasing attention is being paid to the development of the game among Associate countries. In that context, the election assumes added significance. Another important aspect of the election is that two countries - the USA and Canada - will not be able to vote as their boards remain under suspension.

All 43 Associate Members will have three votes each, taking the total number of votes to 129. Going by the pattern of previous elections, a candidate will be required to secure more than 20 votes to win. Last time, Vallipuram was elected with fewer votes, but there were 11 candidates in the fray then, compared to just five this time around.

One of the key aspects to watch in the election is how the Associate Members cast their votes. Of the five candidates, three are from Asia, one from Africa and one from Europe. It remains to be seen whether the voting results in broader geographical representation on the ICC Board, with candidates from different continents being elected. At present, all the incumbent Associate directors are from Asia.

Below the breakdown of eligible 43 Associate voting nations, region wise:

America (2): Brazil and Costa Rica

Europe (10): Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Jersey, France, Italy, Sweden and Romania

Africa (11): Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Uganda, and Seychelles

East Asia Pacific (6): Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Vanuatu, Samoa, and the Philippines

Asia 14 (including six from Middle East): United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Maldives