A/67/PV.88 General Assembly

In the light of the need for further consultations among the regional groups regarding the candidatures for the Chairs of the Main Committees of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, the elections of the Chairs and bureaux of the Main Committees are postponed to a later date, to be announced. I should now like to consult members with a view to proceeding to the election of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly for the sixty-eighth session. In accordance with rule 30 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, “The Vice-Presidents shall be elected after the election of the Chairmen of the six Main Committees referred to in rule 98, in such a way to ensure the representative character of the General Committee”. It is also my understanding that the elections of the Chairs of the Main Committees will conform with annex II of resolution 48/264, of 29 July 1994, and will not have an impact on the geographical distribution of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and the representative character of the General Committee. If there are no objections, I shall take it that the General Assembly therefore agrees to proceed to elect the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly. *1336407* 13-36407 (E)

In accordance with rule 30 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, we shall now proceed to the election of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly for the sixty-eighth session. All members of the General Assembly are eligible in this election except those already represented in the General Committee, namely, the country whose representative has been elected to the presidency of the General Assembly. In accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of the annex to resolution 33/138, of 19 December 1978, the 21 Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly for the sixty-eighth session shall be elected according to the following pattern: six representatives from African States, five representatives from Asia-Pacific States, one representative from Eastern European States, two representatives from Latin American and Caribbean States, two representatives from Western European and other States, and five representatives from the permanent members of the Security Council. In accordance with paragraph 16 of General Assembly decision 34/401, the election of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly by secret ballot will be dispensed with when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled. We shall proceed accordingly. I shall now read the names of the slate of endorsed candidates. African States: Botswana, Cameroon, Guinea, South Sudan, Togo and Tunisia. Asia-Pacific States: Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Eastern European States: Romania. Latin American and Caribbean States: Chile and Guatemala. Western European and other States: Monaco and Spain. Since the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled in each region, I declare those candidates elected, in addition to the five representatives from the permanent members of the Security Council. The following States have therefore been elected to vice-presidencies of the General Assembly for the sixty-eighth session: Botswana, Cameroon, Chile, China, France, Guatemala, Guinea, Malaysia, Monaco, Romania, the Russian Federation, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Uzbekistan. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the States that have been elected to vice-presidencies of the General Assembly for the sixty-eighth session. I also wish to remind members that the Chairs of the Main Committees have not yet been elected. After the election of the Chairs of the six Main Committees, at a later date, the General Committee for the sixty-eighth session will then be fully constituted in accordance with rule 38 of the rules of procedure. I wish to make an appeal to the Member States to try to resolve the problem of selecting Chairs for the six Main Committees so that we do not violate our responsibilities under the rules of procedure and the Charter of the United Nations much longer.