A/52/PV.40 General Assembly

This morning the General Assembly will proceed to the election of 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to replace those members whose term of office expires on 31 December 1997. The 18 outgoing members are Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, the Sudan, Thailand, Uganda and the United States of America. I should like to remind members of the Assembly that, as of 1 January 1998, the following States will continue to be represented on the Economic and Social Council: Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chile, China, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Djibouti, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, the Gambia, Germany, Guyana, Iceland, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Zambia. The names of these 36 States should therefore not appear on the ballots. ____________________ * Reissued for technical reasons. In accordance with paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 2847 (XXVI) of 20 December 1971, and taking into account the number of States which will remain members of the Council after 1 January 1998, the 18 members should be elected as follows: five from African States, four from Asian States, two from Eastern European States, three from Latin American and Caribbean States and four from Western European and other States. The ballot papers reflect this pattern. I should like to inform the Assembly that the number of candidates, not exceeding the number of seats to be filled, receiving the greatest number of votes and a two-thirds majority of those present and voting will be declared elected. In the case of a tie vote for a remaining seat, there will be a restricted ballot limited to those candidates which have obtained an equal number of votes. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to this procedure?

In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, the election shall be held by secret ballot, and there shall be no nominations. Regarding candidatures, I have been informed by the Chairmen of the regional groups that, for the five vacant seats from among the African States, the five endorsed candidates are Algeria, the Comoros, Lesotho, Mauritius and Sierra Leone. For the Eastern European States, there are three candidates for two vacant seats: Belarus, Georgia, and Poland. For the three vacant seats from among the Latin American and Caribbean States, there are five candidates: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Saint Lucia. The Group of Western European and other States has endorsed four candidates for four vacant seats: Belgium, Italy, New Zealand and the United States of America. In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, we shall now proceed to the election by secret ballot. Ballot papers marked “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” will now be distributed. I request representatives to use only those ballot papers and to write on them the names of the States for which they wish to vote. A ballot paper containing more names from the relevant region than the number of seats assigned to it will be declared invalid. Names of Member States on a ballot paper which do not belong to that region will not be counted at all. A vote was taken by secret ballot.

The result of the voting is as follows: Group A — African States Number of ballot papers: 175 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 175 Abstentions: 2 Number of members voting: 173 Required two-thirds majority: 116 Group B — Asian States Number of ballot papers: 175 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 175 Abstentions: 0 Number of members voting: 175 Required two-thirds majority: 117 Number of votes obtained: Viet Nam 137 Pakistan 126 India 111 Malaysia 104 Oman 104 Qatar 85 Yemen 4 Bahrain 2 Indonesia 1 Uzbekistan 1 Group C — Eastern European States Number of ballot papers: 175 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 175 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 174 Required two-thirds majority: 116 Number of votes obtained: Belarus 120 Poland 109 Georgia 107 Ukraine 5 Bulgaria 1 Number of ballot papers: 175 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 175 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 174 Required two-thirds majority: 116 Number of votes obtained: Colombia 118 Brazil 115 Peru 103 Guatemala 96 Saint Lucia 61 Panama 3 Venezuela 2 Bolivia 1 Honduras 1 Group E — Western European and other States Number of ballot papers: 175 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 175 Abstentions: 6 Number of members voting: 169 Required two-thirds majority: 113 Number of votes obtained: Belgium 164 Italy 164 New Zealand 162 United States 157 Greece 1 Netherlands 1

I congratulate the States which have been elected members of the Economic and Social Council. The following seats remain to be filled: two from among the Asian States, one from among the Eastern European States and two from among the Latin American and Caribbean States. We shall therefore proceed to the first restricted ballot. This is in accordance with rule 94 of the rules of procedure. Ballot papers marked “B”, “C” and “D” will now be distributed. May I ask representatives to write on the ballot papers the names of the States for which they wish to vote. Ballot papers marked “B”, for the Asian States, will be declared invalid if they contain the names of States other than India, Malaysia, Oman or Qatar, as well as if they contain the names of more than two States. Ballot papers marked “C”, for the Eastern European States, will be declared invalid if they contain the names of States other than Georgia or Poland, as well as if they contain the names of more than one State. Ballot papers marked “D”, for the Latin American and Caribbean States, will be declared invalid if they contain the names of States other than Brazil, Guatemala, Peru or Saint Lucia, as well as if they contain the names of more than two States.

I congratulate the State that has been elected a member of the Economic and Social Council. There remain two seats from among the Asian States, one from among the Eastern European States and one from among the Latin American and Caribbean States to be filled. In accordance with the rules of procedure, we should continue with the series of restricted ballots. However, in view of the late hour, I propose that we postpone further balloting until 3 p.m.