Sixty-third General Assembly

Plenary

30^th Meeting (AM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS 18 MEMBERS TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

The General Assembly today elected 18 members to the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2009.

Those elected were Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Japan, Lichtenstein, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Peru, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The 18 outgoing members were Angola, Austria, Benin, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Japan, Lichtenstein, Madagascar, Mauritania, Paraguay, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

The new members were elected according to the following pattern:  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.

Ahead of those elections, the Assembly approved a request from Iceland to relinquish its Council seat for the Group of Western European and Other States at the end of 2008, for the remainder of its term in favour of Norway.  Norway was then elected to the Council for a one-year term of office beginning 1 January 2009.

As of 1 January 2009, the remaining members of the Council will be Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cameroon, Cape Verde, China, Congo, El Salvador, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Somalia, Sudan, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.

The Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m. Monday, 27 October, to consider the annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Voting Results

Norway’s Election to Seat Vacated by Iceland

Ahead of the general elections for the Economic and Social Council, the Assembly President drew attention to a letter from Iceland (document A/63/493), announcing it would relinquish its seat for the Group of Western European and Other States at the end of 2008 for the remaining term, in favour of Norway, which would hold the seat until 31 December 2010.  The Assembly then elected Norway a member of the Council.

Western European and Other States (1 Seat)
Number of ballot papers:	182
Number of invalid ballots:	4
Number of valid ballots:	178
Abstentions:	8
Number of Members voting:	170
Required majority:	114
Number of votes obtained:
Norway	154
France	4
Germany	3
Greece	3
Portugal	3
Lichtenstein	1
Spain	1
Sweden	1
Economic and Social Council Membership
African States (5 Seats)
Number of ballot papers:	184
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	184
Abstentions:	1
Number of Members voting:	183
Required majority:	122
Number of votes obtained:
Côte d’Ivoire	179
Namibia	179
Mauritius	178
Guinea-Bissau	177
Morocco	174
Asian States (3 Seats)
Number of ballot papers:	184
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	184
Abstentions:	0
Number of Members voting:	184
Required majority:	123
Number of votes obtained:
Saudi Arabia	180
India	179
Japan	177
Eastern European States (1 Seat)
Number of ballot papers:	184
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	184
Abstentions:	7
Number of Members voting:	177
Required majority:	118
Number of votes obtained:
Estonia:	177
Latin American and Caribbean States (4 Seats)
Number of ballot papers:	184
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	184
Abstentions:	0
Number of Members voting:	184
Required majority:	123
Number of votes obtained:
Guatemala	180
Saint Kitts and Nevis	180
Venezuela	177
Peru	176
Mexico	2
Haiti	1
Western European and Other States (5 Seats)
Number of ballot papers:	184
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	184
Abstentions:	1
Number of Members voting:	183
Required majority:	122
Number of votes obtained:
Portugal	179
Germany	178
Greece	177
Lichtenstein	170
France	168
Spain	2
Turkey	1

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For information media • not an official record