A/54/PV.42 General Assembly

I should like to inform members that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of this information?

This information will be reflected in an addendum to document A/54/464.

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 1999. The 18 outgoing members are Cape Verde, Chile, Cuba, Djibouti, El Salvador, France, the Gambia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Zambia. As of 1 January 2000, the following States will continue to be represented on the Economic and Social Council: Algeria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, the Comoros, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Venezuela and Viet Nam. The names of these 36 States should therefore not appear on the ballots. 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 2000, the 18 members should be elected as follows: five from African States, three from Asian States, one from Eastern European States, four from Latin American and Caribbean States, and five from Western European and other States. The ballot papers reflect this pattern. I should like to inform the Assembly that those candidates, not exceeding the number of seats to be filled, 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 Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and the Sudan. For the three vacant seats from among the Asian States, there are six candidates, namely, Bahrain, Fiji, Japan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. For the one vacant seat from among the Eastern European States, there are three candidates, namely, Croatia, Hungary and Lithuania. For the four vacant seats from among the Latin American and Caribbean States, there are six candidates. They are Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname and Uruguay. For the five vacant seats from among the Western European and other States, the five endorsed candidates are Austria, France, Germany, Greece and Portugal. In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, we shall now proceed to the election by secret ballot. I should like to seek the usual cooperation of representatives during the time of the conduct of the election. As you are all aware, once the voting begins, all campaigning should cease on the main floor of the General Assembly Hall. This means in particular that until the election is completed, no more campaign material can be distributed inside the Hall. This includes the recess time when the results are being tallied. 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.

Before we proceed further, I should like to inform members that Seychelles has made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of this information?

This information will be reflected in an addendum to document A/54/464 to be issued.

Five seats remain to be filled: two seats from the among the Asian States, one seat from among the Eastern European States and two seats from among the Latin American and Caribbean States. We shall therefore proceed to the first restricted ballot. 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 name of a State other than Bahrain, Fiji, Kazakhstan or Thailand, 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 name of a State other than Croatia or Lithuania, as well as if they contain the names of more than one State. Ballot papers marked “D”, for the Latin America and Caribbean States, will be declared invalid if they contain the name of a State other than Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname or Uruguay, as well as if they contain the names of more than two States.