Economic and Social Council

2012 Organizational Session

11^th Meeting (PM)

Economic and Social Council Fills Vacancy on International Narcotics

 

Control Board, Continuing Organizational Session

 

Continuing its 2012 organizational session, the Economic and Social Council this afternoon elected by secret ballot Francisco Thoumi (Colombia) to serve effective immediately as a member of the International Narcotics Control Board until 15 March 2012.

Mr. Thoumi was elected to replace Camilo Uribe Granja ( Colombia), who resigned.  The 54-member Council voted in two secret ballots, in the first of which Mr. Thoumi won the majority of votes, short, however, of the 26 required for appointment.  In the second round of ballots, one member abstained from voting.

Vote Results

Number of ballots:	51
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid votes:	51
Number of abstentions:	0
Number of members voting:	51
Required majority:	26
Number of votes obtained
Carlos Maria Alvarez Vara (Spain)	9
Maria Luisa Di Bernando Navaz (Venezuela)	8
Isidore Silas Obot (Nigeria)	6
Carlos Poiares (Portugal)	3
Francisco Thoumi (Colombia)	18
Volodymyr Tymoshenko (Ukraine)	7

As no candidate obtained the necessary majority, the Council then proceeded to a second ballot, with the two candidates with the most votes.

Number of ballots:	50
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid votes:	50
Number of abstentions:	1
Number of members voting:	50
Required majority:	26
Number of votes obtained
Carlos Maria Alvarez Vara (Spain)	15
Francisco Thoumi (Colombia)	35

The Narcotics Control Board comprises 13 members, including three nominated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 10 nominated by Governments, to serve in their personal capacity for five-year terms.

The President of the Economic and Social Council, Milos Koterec (Slovakia), who chaired the meeting, announced that the Turkish Government had withdrawn its nomination of a seventh candidate, Mustafa Pinarci (Turkey).

The Economic and Social Council is the principal organ for the socio-economic work of the United Nations.  Over the past two days of its organizational session, it filled vacancies in 21 subsidiary bodies.  Its subsidiary bodies include nine functional commissions, five regional commissions, standing committees, as well as experts and related bodies.  The Council also receives reports from 11 of the Organization’s funds and programmes, serving as the central forum for economic and social issues and as a policy adviser to States and the United Nations system.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record