Nobel Peace Prize: The five leading contenders

Pope Francis and Angela Merkel are the favourites in a year dominated by the refugee crisis - but a surprise winner could still triumph

Mussie Zerai founded a humanitarian organisation which helps refugees arriving in Europe (Getty Images)

With the announcement of this year’s Nobel peace prize due on to be announced on Friday morning, the debate over who is likely to win the world’s top humanitarian prize is in full swing.

Won last year by Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, the odds-on favourites for the award this year - Pope Francis and Angela Merkel - lead a list dominated by the world’s response to the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Other nominees include a doctor fighting war rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the staff of a Russian newspaper fighting against censorship.

The favourites include:

Angela Merkal has been praised for her response to the refugee crisis (RT)

Angela Merkel

The German Chancellor has won widespread praise - and criticism - for her decision to take a welcoming approach to the thousands of refugees arriving at the EU’s borders.

The number of refugees arriving in the country could hit 1.5m this year and critics say it is struggling to process the new arrivals.

The Washington Post reports that with Germany’s previous enthusiasm for opening its doors on the wane and attacks on refugee centres by members of the far right, Ms Merkel’s chances might be damaged.

It also noted she had been nominated by her German political colleagues for her work in trying to solve the Ukrainian conflict rather than her work with refugees.

What the bookmakers think:
William Hill: 2/1
Paddy Power: 2/1
Ladbrookes’: 2/1

Mussie Zerai (Getty Images)

Mussie Zerai

A Catholic priest originally from Eritrea, regarded as one of the most brutal regimes on the planet and where many refugees are fleeing from, Father Zerai founded a humanitarian organisation called Habeshia.

His team primarily works to help refugees when they arrive in Europe but he has also begun contacting refugees while they are still stuck on the boats and using the GPS coordinates from their phones, he passes on where they are to the Italian coastguard, according to Agence France Presse.

What the bookmaker’s think:
William Hill: 5/1
Paddy Power: 6/1
Ladbrookes: 6/1

Pope Francis is favoured because of his perceived tolerance of same sex relationships and his response to the refugee crisis (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

Pope Francis

According to the Catholic Herald, Francis would be the very first pontiff in history to win the prize. He is favoured for widespread popularity among non-Catholics and his apparent modesty and preference to live among the poor.

In particular, he has been praised for his response to the refugee crisis, which included housing two Syrian families in the Vatican, playing a key role in re-establishing relations between the US and Cuba and his recent, more liberal, stances on traditional Catholic dogma such as the ban on ordination of married priests and gay people.

But the Guardian believes his chances could be hampered by his decision to meet with Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, who defied a Supreme Court ruling by refusing to grant same-sex marriage licenses.

Although a spokesman for the Argentinian insisted the meeting was not intended as support for her beliefs, Ms Davis has become an unlikely darling of American religious hardliners.

What the bookmakers think: 
William Hill: 6/1
Paddy Power: 8/1
Ladbrookes: 6/1

Denis Mukwege has treated thousands of victims of mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (AFP/Getty)

Denis Mukwege

A gynecologist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr Mukwege specialises in treating victims of gang rape and is estimated to have performed as many as 10 surgeries a day since the start of a civil war that gripped the country between 1998 and 2013 - and remains volatile.

Some of his patients had been gang-raped more than once.

In September 2012, Dr Mukwege gave a speech at the United Nations condemning the use of mass rape as a tactic of war.

In response, a month later, four armed men attacked his home while he was not there, held his daughters hostage and waited for him to return. His guard was shot dead and he only escaped the assassination attempt by dropping to the ground.

He initially fled to Europe but returned in January 2013 to help more women.

This is his third nomination for the Nobel peace prize.

This is what the bookmaker’s think: 
William Hill: 6/1
Paddy Power: 7/1
Ladbrookes: 5/1

Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta

Novaya Gazeta*

This Russian newspaper was founded in 1990 using the proceeds of the peace prize won that year by former USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the Washington Post reports.

The newspaper, which has been praised for its coverage of the Ukraine crisis in the past year, has come under intense pressure from the government.

Its journalists are constantly at risk and in 2006 one of its reporters, Anna Politkovskaya, was assassinated. Her death has been linked to her reporting on the war in Chechnya.

This is what the bookmaker’s think:
William Hill: 8/1
Paddy Power: 7/1
Ladbrookes: 6/1

*Novaya Gazeta is co-owned by Alexander Lebedev, who also owns The Independent.