A/69/PV.47 General Assembly

In accordance with rule 140 of the General Assembly’s rules of procedure, the Assembly will now hold by-elections to elect members of the Economic and Social Council. Members are reminded that at the 32nd plenary meeting, on 29 October 2014, the following 18 States were elected members of the Economic and Social Council for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2015: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, India, Japan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zimbabwe. I would first like to draw the attention of members to a letter dated 30 September 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations. In the letter, the Permanent Representative of Switzerland, in his capacity as Chair of the Group of Western European and Other States, announces that at the end of the year 2014, Canada will relinquish its seat on the Economic and Social Council for the remaining term in favour of Australia; Denmark will relinquish its seat for the remaining term in favour of Finland; and New Zealand will relinquish its seat in favour of Switzerland. *1461597* 14-61597 (E) As a result, three vacancies will occur, and new members must therefore be elected to fill the unexpired terms of office of Canada, Denmark and New Zealand, commencing on 1 January 2015 and expiring on 31 December 2015, in the case of Canada, and on 31 December 2016, in the case of Denmark and New Zealand. In accordance with paragraph 4 of resolution 2847 (XXVI), of 20 December 1971, and taking into account that the vacancies will occur from among the Group of Western European and Other States, the new members should therefore be elected from that region. I should like to inform the Assembly that the candidates that receive a two-thirds majority and the greatest number of votes by members present and voting will be declared elected. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to that 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. We shall now proceed accordingly. I should like to inform members that, as of 1 January 2015, the following States from among the Group of Western European and Other States will be represented on the Economic and Social Council: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. The names of those 10 States should therefore not appear on the ballot. Before we begin the voting process, I should like to remind members that pursuant to rule 88 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order on the actual conduct of the voting. In addition, ballot papers will be given only to the representative seated directly behind the country’s nameplate. We shall now begin the voting process. Members are requested to remain seated until all ballots have been collected. I would like to remind members that, at this stage, they are voting in a by-election for three seats for the Western European and Other States. Ballot papers 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 will be declared invalid if it contains more names of Member States from the relevant region than the number of seats assigned to it. A ballot will also be declared invalid if all the names of the Member States on that ballot do not belong to the relevant region.

The result of the voting is as follows: Group B — Western European and Other States Number of ballot papers: 162 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 162 Abstentions: 4 Number of members present and voting: 158 Required two-thirds majority: 106 Number of votes obtained: Finland 155 Australia 154 Switzerland 149 Luxembourg 1

I congratulate Australia, Finland and Switzerland for having been elected members of the Economic and Social Council. The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (b) of agenda item 114.