Acclamation

Acclamation is a procedure for adopting a decision or electing a candidate without conducting a counted vote, on the understanding that no member objects. In parliamentary practice it is typically used when only one candidate has been nominated, or when a proposal enjoys clearly unanimous support, making a formal ballot redundant.

In the United Nations, acclamation is common for elections to subsidiary bodies and presiding offices. Under Rule 92 of the Rules of Procedure of the UN General Assembly, elections are normally held by secret ballot, but the rule provides that when there is only one candidate the Assembly may decide to dispense with the ballot. The election of the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General has frequently proceeded by acclamation once regional groups endorse a single candidate — for example, the appointment of António Guterres in October 2016 was confirmed by the General Assembly by acclamation following a Security Council recommendation.

Acclamation is also used in:

• Model UN committees, where chairs may adopt procedural motions or elect dais members "by acclamation" when no objection is raised.
• Political party conventions, where a sole nominee is declared the nominee without a roll-call vote.
• Westminster-style parliaments, where a Speaker may be elected unopposed.

The practice has trade-offs. Supporters argue it saves time, signals consensus, and avoids divisive ballots on uncontested matters. Critics note that acclamation can obscure dissent, prevent secret-ballot accountability, and entrench pre-negotiated outcomes among regional or party blocs. In the UN context, civil-society groups including the 1 for 7 Billion campaign have argued that even uncontested Secretary-General selections should involve a recorded vote to increase transparency.

Procedurally, acclamation requires the absence of objection: a single member calling for a recorded vote is generally sufficient to force a formal ballot under most rules of procedure.