More than 300 nominations for 2021 Nobel peace prize

 Over 300 nominations the third-highest amount to date  have been made for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norway-based award committee said on Monday.The 329 total candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize comprised of 234 individuals and 95 organisations, the Nobel Committee said.

Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, members of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and former U.S. President Donald Trump have been nominated for the 2021 prize by lawmakers in Sweden and Norway.

The record of 376 candidates was set in 2016, when the five-strong panel selected Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos as laureate, citing his role in ending a more than 50-year long civil war.

The World Food Programme (WFP) received the 2020 award for its “efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.’’

Politicians, academics, former peace laureates, directors of peace research institutes and current and former members of the Nobel Committee were among those who have the right to propose candidates.

The Nobel Committee advises nominators not to reveal their proposals and keeps a 50-year seal on the names.

However, this does not deter some from announcing their picks.

The prize, first awarded in 1901, was endowed by the Swedish inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel.

Prizes are also awarded in the fields of Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Economics. With the exception of Economics, the prizes were endowed by Nobel.

The prizes are traditionally presented on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

The 2020 award ceremonies were scaled down due to the pandemic. (dpa/NAN)