Reference: Voting on Election of the Council (Doc 7600, Section IX)

RULE 54

Each Contracting State which intends to stand for election to the Council may at any time so inform, in writing, the Secretary General who shall, at the opening of the session, publish a list showing the names of all the States which have so notified him. This list shall serve the purpose of information only. The official notification of candidacy may be given only at the times specified in Rules 56 and 58 and the official lists of candidatures shall be only those specified in Rules 56 b) and 58 b).

RULE 55

a)   The election of the Council shall be so conducted as to enable adequate representation on the Council to be given to the Contracting States described in Article 50 b) of the Convention and shall be held in three parts as follows:

i) The first part — election of States of chief importance in air transport — shall be held within four days of the opening of the session.

 

ii) The second part — election of States not already elected in the first part but which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation — shall be held immediately after the first part of the election.

 

iii) The third part — election of States not elected in either the first or the second part, and whether or not they were candidates in either of those parts, and whose designation will ensure that all the major geographical areas of the world are represented on the Council — shall be held as soon as possible after the expiry of twenty-four hours following the publication of the list of candidates mentioned in Rule 58 b).

b)   As early as possible after the opening of the session, the Assembly shall fix the maximum number of Contracting States to be elected in each part of the election and fix also the day on which the first two parts of the election shall be held.

RULE 56

a)   Each Contracting State which desires to stand for election in either the first or the second part shall so notify the Secretary General in writing during the period of forty-eight hours following the opening of the session.

b)   At the end of the period of forty-eight hours mentioned above, the Secretary General shall publish a list of the States which have notified him, in accordance with paragraph a) above, of their candidacy for the first or the second part of the election.

c)   All States entered in the aforesaid list shall be deemed to be available for consideration for the first part as well as for the second part, if necessary, of the election unless a Contracting State notifies the Secretary General that it does not wish to be considered in the first part or the second part of the election. Accordingly, and subject to the foregoing, any Contracting State included in the said list and not elected in the first part of the election will automatically be included amongst those to be considered in the second part of the election.

RULE 57

After the second part of the election the President of the Assembly shall declare an interval of approximately forty-eight hours specifying the hour at which that interval will expire, in order that candidatures may be presented for the third part of the election.

RULE 58

a)   Any Contracting State not elected in the first or the second part of the election, and whether or not it was a candidate in either of those parts, shall, if it wishes to be a candidate for the third part, so notify the Secretary General in writing after the commencement, but before the expiry, of the interval mentioned in Rule 57.

b)   A list showing the names of the States which are candidates in accordance with this Rule for the third part of the election shall be published at the end of the aforesaid interval.

RULE 59

a)   The election in each of the three parts shall be conducted by secret ballot.

b)   Arrangements shall be made by the Secretary General for voting on each ballot. The names of all Contracting States which are to be considered for the purpose of the particular ballot concerned as well as a statement of the maximum number of Contracting States to be elected in that ballot shall be provided. A Contracting State may vote for any number of candidates up to, but not exceeding, the number of vacancies to be filled by the ballot concerned. An affirmative vote shall be indicated by selecting the name of the Contracting State for which the vote is cast.

c)   Voting procedures may be effected through manual or electronic means with the understanding that manual votes remain in place as a fall-back position where electronic voting is used.

d)   Any ballot submission shall be rejected if the number of affirmative votes therein exceeds the number to be elected in that particular ballot.

e)   The results of each ballot shall be announced by the President of the Assembly.

RULE 60

To be elected a member of the Council, a Contracting State must receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the total number of Contracting States voting. The submission of a ballot shall constitute the act of voting. If the number of Contracting States receiving such majority on any ballot is in excess of the number of places to be filled, those receiving the highest numbers of votes shall be chosen. If the number of Contracting States receiving such majority is less than the number of places to be filled, those which have obtained this majority shall be considered to be elected and there shall be another ballot, and, if necessary, additional ballots to fill the remaining places. In these ballots only those Contracting States which were unsuccessful in obtaining the required majority in the previous ballot shall be considered. Following any such ballot in which no Contracting State receives the required majority, the list of Contracting States in the next ballot shall be restricted to a number not more than twice the number of vacancies to be filled and these Contracting States shall be those which receive the highest numbers of votes in the previous ballot. However, in the case where two or more Contracting States are tied for the last place on such a restricted list, such Contracting States shall all be included in the list.

RULE 61

In the event of a tie between two or more Contracting States for the last place or places in a part of the election as described in Rule 55, a further ballot shall be held in which only those thus tied shall be considered. If such a ballot results in another tie, the Contracting State to be eliminated from the list for the next ballot shall be determined by a drawing of lots by the President of the Assembly; and the Contracting States so eliminated shall not be eligible for consideration in any subsequent ballot for election in that part.