Voting Procedures1 All delegates in the committee may vote on amendments or resolutions, however, delegates must clearly indicate during roll call as to whether they are “present and voting”. Delegates who have stated they are “present and voting” may not choose to abstain during voting procedures. During voting procedures, no points are allowed and no individuals are allowed to enter or exit the conference room. Silence is mandatory during voting procedures. A resolution will pass if the number “for” exceeds the number “against” regardless of the number of abstentions; i.e. abstentions do not count either for or against the adoption of a resolution; the Chairs will nonetheless keep a record of the number of abstentions. A resolution or an amendment with a tied vote “fails”. Roll-call vote is admissible, though it is not encouraged to use this excessively as it can be time-consuming. A re-vote may be initiated (using a Motion to Divide the House). General statements such as “Passing resolutions is good” are in order. A chair must remain objective. There are NO informal votes within this conference; all votes are real and count! After voting for an amendment or a resolution, the submitter has the right to retain the floor (“motion to reply”). Simple Majority Simple Majority requires the positive votes of at least 50% + 1 of the delegates present in the committee during the voting procedure. If the result of the vote is a tie, the matter will be considered to have failed. 2/3 (two-thirds) Majority For a matter that requires a 2/3 Majority in order to be adopted, it must incur the votes in favour of 2/3 of the members of the committee that are present during the voting procedure. Resolution Process1 During lobbying sessions, delegates are expected to merge (i.e. combine two or more draft resolutions – often drafted prior to the conference) similar resolutions in order to increase the potential support for the respective resolution. When done merging, a main submitter must be selected. Any draft resolution must include a minimum of three signatories (co-submitters), in order for it to be taken into consideration by the Dias (the Chairs of the committee). It is important to note that while creating resolutions, delegates are not merging or creating clauses according to their personal ideas; their actions must be based on their country’s ideas.
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NOTE: these procedures do not pertain to the UNSC (Security Council), which will follow Ad Hoc Committee proceedings.