Amid divergent views among developed and emerging economies over the next IMF chief, OECD

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Secretary General Angel Gurria today said the selection should be transparent and merit based.

"The process should be open, transparent, merit based and it should be fast...If those things are complied with, we will have a very good (IMF MD)," Gurria, a Mexican national, told reporters here.

Paris-based OECD is a club of mostly developed nations and its members account for over 60 per cent of global output.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens and Israeli Central Bank Governor Stacy Fisher are in the race to become the next Managing Director (MD) of International Monetary Fund.

With the backing of Europe, Lagarde seems to be the front runner for the post, even as consensus remains elusive among emerging nations, including India, on the issue.

Lagarde and Carstens recently visited New Delhi to seek support for their candidature, but India remained non-committal.

Traditionally, IMF has been an European, while the World Bank has always been headed by an American.

With the developing world leading the global recovery, many emerging countries like India are seeking increased voice in international financial institutions such as IMF.

However, the emerging nations -- especially BRICS bloc -- have not been able to rally around a common candidate for the IMF top job.

The post of IMF chief fell vacant after the sudden exit of Dominique Strauss-Kahn last month in the wake of sexual assault charges against him. The new IMF MD is likely to be chosen by June 30.