1. If two or more proposals are made on the same matter, the Commission, unless it decides otherwise,
shall vote on these proposals in the order in which they were submitted.
2. After each vote the Commission may decide whether it shall put the next proposal to the vote.
3. However, the motions which are not on the substance of the proposals shall be voted upon before the
said proposals.
Rule 70 - Elections
Elections shall be held by secret ballot unless the election is for a post for which only one candidate has
been proposed and that candidate has been agreed upon by the members of the Commission.
Chapter XII - Participation of Non-Members of the Commission
Rule 71 - Participation of States in the deliberations
1. The Commission or its subsidiary bodies may invite any State to participate in the discussion of any
issue that shall be of particular interest to that State.
2. A State thus invited shall have no voting right, but may submit proposals which may be put to the vote at
the request of any member of the Commission or of the subsidiary body concerned.
Rule 72 - Participation of other Persons or Organisations
The Commission may invite any organisation or persons capable of enlightening it to participate in its
deliberations without voting rights.
Rule 73 - Participation of Specialised Institutions and Consultation with the latter
1. Pursuant to the agreements concluded between the Organisation of African Unity and the Specialised
Institutions, the latter shall have the right to:
1. Be represented in the public sessions of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies;
2. Participate, without voting rights, through their representatives in deliberations on issues which shall be
of interest to them and to submit, on these issues, proposals which may be put to vote at the request of any
member of the Commission or the interested subsidiary body.
2. Before placing on the provisional agenda an issues submitted by a Specialised Institution, the Secretary
General should initiate such preliminary consultations as may be necessary, with this institution.
3. When an issue proposed for inclusion in the provisional agenda of a session, or which has been added
to the agenda of a session pursuant to Rule 5 of the present Rules of Procedure, contains a proposal
requesting the Organisation of African Unity to undertake additional activities relating to issues concerning
directly one or more specialised institutions, the Secretary General should enter in to consultation with the
institutions concerned and inform the Commission of the ways and means of ensuring coordinated
utilisation of the resources of the various institutions.
4. When at a meeting of the Commission, a proposal calling upon the Organisation of African Unity to
undertake additional activities relating to issues directly concerning one or several specialised institutions,
the Secretary General, after consulting as far as possible, the representatives of the interested institutions,
should draw the attention of the Commission to the effects of that proposal.
5. Before taking a decision on the proposals mentioned above, the Commission shall make sure that the
institutions concerned have been duly consulted.
Rule 74 - Participation of other Inter-Governmental Organisations
1. The Secretary shall inform, not later that 4 weeks before a session, non-governmental organisations with
observer status of the days and agenda of a forthcoming session.
2. Representatives of Inter-Governmental Organisations to which the Organisation of African Unity has
granted permanent observer status and other organisations recognised by the Commission, may
participate, without voting rights, in the deliberations of the Commission on issues falling within the
framework of the activities of these organisations.
9