By Mike Baker BBC education correspondent

It has to be one of the world's rarest elections.

Before this weekend, voters had been called upon just twice in the past 70 years.

The electorate is limited to graduates of a single university and canvassing by candidates is frowned upon.

It is a much sought after job yet it carries no salary. There are benefits though: as many formal dinners as you can eat and plenty of opportunities to dress up in ceremonial robes. Also, like union bosses in the bad old days, you are elected for life.

Powerful figures

Yet the election for the Chancellor of Oxford University attracts more column-inches than most local council elections which, arguably, impact on the lives of many more voters.

This is partly because the media love history, tradition, gossip and intrigue. The election for Chancellor of Oxford has always attracted some of the most powerful figures in the land.

The most recent, Lord Jenkins, was a founder member of the SDP, a former Home Secretary, a mentor to Tony Blair, and an acclaimed biographer.

His predecessor was Harold Macmillan, later the Earl of Stockton, who was elected while still Prime Minister. He held the post for 27 years.

When asked whether the post was really necessary, he apparently said: "You have to have a chancellor because otherwise you would not have a vice-chancellor, and then where would you be?"

The vice-chancellor, of course, is the real boss, the person who is paid to run the university.

No Clinton

Earlier chancellors included Oliver Cromwell, the Duke of Wellington, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Very early incumbents tended not to last very long in the post. If you fell out with the king or had the wrong political or religious affiliation, you were out of the job.

There are four candidates this time. Regrettably, the most high-profile name to be suggested - former US President Bill Clinton - is not among them. He would certainly have added some glamour.

Instead, as usual, the British political and legal establishment is well represented.

Bill Clinton chose not to apply for Lord Jenkins' old job

The front-runner appears to be Chris Patten, the former Chairman of the Conservative Party and the last Governor of Hong Kong.

Running him close is Lord Bingham, a senior Law Lord and former Chief Justice of England. He is also "visitor" at Balliol, the Oxford college which has dominated the market in chancellors.

The third candidate from the traditional stable is Lord Neill of Bladen QC.

He has "insider" appeal as a former vice-chancellor of the university and is better known to the public as the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Dark horse

The fourth candidate is the "dark horse" and the only one standing on a specific issue.

Sandi Toksvig is also the youngest candidate (at 42 only just over half the age of the oldest) and the only one with no connection to Oxford.

Whisper it: she took her degree at "the other place". Yes, Cambridge.

Toksvig is a comedienne, broadcaster and game show contestant.

She is standing on an anti-tuition fees platform and, as such, has the support of the Liberal Democrats.

Toksvig might win the support of many students for her stand but, unluckily for her, current undergraduates do not have a vote.

Top-up fees controversy

However, although she has the backing of the Oxford Students' Union, a large group of past and present student leaders of societies and college common rooms have backed Chris Patten.

The current controversy over the government's plans for universities has added to the excitement surrounding this election.

The fact that the candidates have felt obliged to state their opinions on student fees and university admissions helps underline the arguments of those who believe the chancellor is more than just a figurehead.

Will Chris Patten walk the contest?

The new chancellor will certainly be expected to use their influence in the critical political debate on higher education.

The government's proposals are still just that; they require a parliamentary Bill before higher fees can be charged.

With many Labour MPs strongly opposed to higher fees, there can be no certainty that the government's plans will be approved.

Indeed, much may depend on what happens between Tony Blair and his party over Iraq.

If Blair loses his backbench support, or if he is no longer in Downing Street, the government will struggle to pass the legislation to raise fees.

After Iraq, it could become the next big rallying point for Labour's left-wing.

It may seem a long way from the ceremonial of the Oxford chancellor's procession to the political debate, and wheeler dealing, over higher education.

But whoever wins this weekend's election will have to earn his or her free dinners in College halls by a lot of hard lobbying in the interests of Oxford and the rest of the universities in Britain.

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