Riyadh: The most likely candidate to replace Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz as King Abdullah's successor is Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces who is said to be closer to conservatives than the king.
The king gave Prince Nayef — also his half-brother — the implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne.
For the first time the mechanism of picking the next crown prince is not entirely clear — though the end result is in any case likely to be Prince Nayef.
It is possible the king will for the first time put the decision of his heir to the Allegiance Council, a body King Abdullah created as one of his reforms, made up of his brothers, half-brothers and nephews with a mandate to determine the succession. That would open the choice up to a degree of debate within the top echelons of the royal family.
Traditionally the king names his successor. King Abdullah formed the council in order to modernise the process and give a wider voice in the choice.
Prince Nayef is 78, and the youngest of the Abdul Aziz sons. King Abdullah has been a reformer, making cautious changes to improve the position of women and seeking to modernise the kingdom.
