Five committee members, appointed by Norway's parliament, met at the Nobel Institute in central Oslo around an oval table with photographs of winners since 1901 on the wall, officials said. Not even the names of candidates are published.
The name of the winner of what many consider the world's top accolade will be announced on October 8 from a field of 144 individuals and 50 organizations. The SEK 10 million Swedish crowns (USD 1.34 million) prize can be split up to three ways.
Espen Barth Eide, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, tipped International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its director general ElBaradei as the winner.
Stein Tønnesson, head of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, agreed that the prize was likely to reward work against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
He said candidates could also include US Republican Senator Richard Lugar and former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn for their work to fund destruction of former Soviet atomic warheads.
Favorites, according to an Australian Internet betting group, are the IAEA and ElBaradei at 5-1, Blix at 6-1, while Havel and Nunn/Lugar share 7-1. Others include Israeli anti-nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu at 11-1, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya at 12-1 and Pope John Paul at 15-1. It said Russian human rights campaigner Sergei Kovalev had leapt to 16-1 from 33-1.
