General Assembly Session 51 meeting 33

The President

In accordance with General Assembly decision 42/450 of 17 December 1987, the Assembly elects the members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination upon their nomination by the Economic and Social Council.

The Assembly has before it document A/51/269, which contains the nominations by the Economic and Social Council to fill the vacancies in the Committee that will occur as a result of the expiration on 31 December 1996 of the terms of office of Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Comoros, the Congo, Cuba, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Those States are eligible for immediate re-election.

I should like to remind members that, after 1 January 1997, the following States will still be members of the Committee: the Bahamas, Benin, China, Egypt, France, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Togo, the United States of America, Uruguay and Zaire.

Therefore, those 14 States are not eligible in this election.

The following States have been nominated by the Economic and Social Council: four African States for four vacancies -- Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, Zimbabwe; four Asian States for four vacancies -- Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Thailand; four Eastern European States for three vacancies -- Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Ukraine; four Latin American and Caribbean States for four vacancies -- Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago; four Western European and other States for five vacancies -- Austria, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mr. Verweij (Netherlands)

I have to inform the Assembly formally that my Government has decided to withdraw the Netherlands candidature for the Committee for Programme and Coordination.

The President

The number of States nominated from among the African States, the Asian States, the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and other States is equal to or does not exceed the number of seats to be filled in each of those regions.

In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, all elections shall be held by secret ballot. However, in accordance with paragraph 16 of decision 34/401, the Assembly may, in elections to subsidiary organs, dispense with secret balloting when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled.

Taking into account the statement just made by the representative of the Netherlands, may I take it that the Assembly wishes to declare those States nominated by the Economic and Social Council from among the African States, the Asian States, the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and other States -- Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cameroon, the Congo, Germany, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe -- elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 1997?

The President

I congratulate the States that have been elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination.

With regard to the three seats to be filled from among the Eastern European States, the number of candidates nominated exceeds the number of vacancies allocated to this region. Therefore, the Assembly will now proceed to a vote by secret ballot to elect three members from the Eastern European States.

In accordance with the rules of procedure, the required number of candidates that receives the largest number of votes and not less than the majority will be declared elected.

In case of a tie vote for the last seat, there will be a restricted ballot limited to those candidates that have obtained an equal number of votes.

May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to that procedure?

The President

Ballot papers for the Eastern European States will now be distributed.

The voting process has begun.

Only the following four States nominated by the Economic and Social Council are eligible: Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. I should like to stress that only the names of three of those States should be written on the ballot paper.

I request representatives to use only the ballot papers that are being distributed and to write the names of the three States for which they wish to vote. Ballot papers containing more than three names will be declared invalid. Names of ineligible States appearing on a ballot paper shall not be counted at all.

The President

The result of the voting is as follows:

Number of ballot papers: 160 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 160 Abstentions: 0 Number of Members voting: 160 Required majority: 81 Number of votes obtained: Poland 131 Romania 127 Ukraine 125 Bulgaria 89

The President

I congratulate the States that have just been elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, and I thank the tellers for their assistance in the election.

The following 18 States have thus been elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a three-year term beginning on l January 1997: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cameroon, Congo, Germany, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Zimbabwe.

Regarding the two remaining vacancies from among the Western European and other States, the General Assembly will be in a position to act on them upon the nomination by the Economic and Social Council of two Member States from that region.

I therefore propose that the Assembly keep this sub-item on the agenda of the fifty-first session. May I take it that the Assembly agrees to that proposal?

The President

We have thus concluded this stage of our consideration of sub-item (b) of agenda item 17.