Much of the morning was spent on election procedures for three sets of elections, namely the five top-ranking positions of the Union, Member States to serve on the Council and members of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB). While the Chairman of the Conference, Nasr Hajji, had asked for views on procedures to be used at this Conference as tabled to the conference, there was some confusion among certain delegations, which triggered a premature debate on the recommendations of the Working Group on ITU Reform for stable election procedures to be used for post-Marrakesh plenipotentiary conferences. But the matter at hand was "Election procedures for the 2002 Plenipotentiary Conference".

When all delegations tuned in to the same wavelength, they appeared to agree that the proposals put forward, which are the same as those used at previous plenipotentiary conferences, had served the ITU membership well. The only sticky points in the view of some members were: the deadline for the submission of candidatures and the timing for the elections themselves.

The Arab group in particular preferred to see these elections held in the third week of the Conference to give the Committees of PP-02 time to press ahead with the substantive matters. Then came the issue of drawing lots in the event of a tie in the final ballot of any of the three sets of elections. For example in the case of elected officials one of the proposed procedures states that "if after the third ballot there is a tie between several candidates so that the two candidates to be voted upon at the fourth ballot cannot be determined, one or, if necessary, two additional ballots, after successive intervals of at least six hours from the announcement of the results, shall be first held to decide between the candidates in question." This procedure then goes on to explain that if there is a tie in both these additional ballots, "the chairman shall draw lots to determine the candidate or candidates to be selected from among those having obtained the same number of votes".

In the end, this procedure was considered to be in square brackets (i.e. not yet approved) with the Conference crossing the bridge if they reach it (if the conference does in fact hit such a snag).

It was decided that all candidatures for all elections should be submitted by 27 September at 18h00 (Marrakesh time). The elections will start with that of the Secretary-General on Tuesday, 1 October.

Many of the ministerial statements made through out the plenary acknowledged the existence of the ‘digital divide’, applauded ITU’s initiative to address it through the World Summit on the Information Society and appealed to all of the Member States to put their support behind this strategic and timely initiative.

Many of the ministers pointed to the fact that while access to information and communication technologies (ICT) can educate, entertain and enrich our lives, ICTs should also be used in helping to achieve the much broader goals; for example, those proposed in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. They lauded ITU’s lead role in organizing the World Summit on Information Society with the aim of developing a global vision and action plan to extend the benefits of ICT to all.

Slovenia, one of the Union’s youngest members (1992), expressed support for an ITU reform process that would encompass all of its segments, taking into consideration the special requirements related to the efficient implementation of modern telecommunications in the developing environment. It stands ready to assist the Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) in its efforts to create conditions that would make bridging the digital divide possible, while equally participating in the work of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) and the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). They pledged their support for ongoing endeavours to reshape ITU for its ‘rendez-vous’ with the Information Society.

Brazil expressed its support for the reform process, but cautioned that it must be balanced and not skewed to one country. It stated that ITU has an important role to play in harmonizing the needs of all, especially during times of what it called "the digital gold rush."

Japan expressed its hope that PP-02 will be the culmination of the reform needed for ITU and encouraged the Union to continue to create strong ties with other organizations which in turn will create real progress in solving problems that affect international society in the twenty-first century. But it said that if ITU is to continue its essential contribution to the development of the global information society, it must have mechanisms in place to take decisions quickly.

The United Kingdom noted that it was impressed with ITU reforms made thus far expressed its hope that PP-02 will continue this path and set the Union on the right road to meet the challenges of the future.

India has been steadily making progress in space technology and its applications, and attaches great significance to the management of the radio-frequency spectrum and geostationary satellite orbit. It said that it is essential that these resources be used rationally and efficiently for equitable access to all Member States. Recalling that equitable access goes beyond the normal bounds of technology, the minister urged ITU to focus more strongly on gender-related programmes especially in the context of developing countries. "Women must be empowered at all levels to achieve our goal of equity and social justice. Telecommunication is a great enabler and I am sure that access to telecommunication services would enable women to walk tall in all spheres of life", she said.

South Africa expressed support for ITU, saying that it is an important multilateral organization in the field of ICTs where all can participate. It appealed to the Unions ‘collective consciousness’ to use ICTs for security, peace and sustainable development.

The Republic of Korea acknowledged that the IT sector has emerged as the core industry of its country and contributed greatly to its recovery from its 1997 economic crisis. It said it was anxious to share its experiences with ITU and the other Member States as it noted, ‘bad things shared will help the pain while good things shared will double the pleasure.’

Ghana reinforced the need to create partnerships between the public and private sectors and civil society. Mexico also called for a mix between public and private initiatives in ICT development. It then acknowledged its support for the Secretary-General’s appeal for information as a tool against the ‘tyranny of ignorance’.

Viet Nam called on PP-02 delegates to bring forth the issue of the security of the world’s communication networks. It said that an international cooperative effort was needed to combat cyberterrorism and that this was increasingly important to all as the world’s economic prosperity becomes more dependent upon ICT’s.

Thailand announced that it was proposing Bangkok as a candidate for Telecom Asia 2004.

Algeria, Armenia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Estonia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Hungary, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Yugoslavia