5 Temporary Members Elected To Security Council

Five non-permanent members of Security Council elected today

17 October 2008 – The General Assembly today elected Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting on 1 January next year.

The newly elected countries will replace Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Panama and South Africa when their terms on the 15-member body expire at the end of this year.

All five countries – which competed for the seats in separate geographical categories – were chosen after one round of balloting this morning at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Council elections are held by secret ballot in the General Assembly, and a winning candidate requires a two-thirds majority of ballots of members present and voting. Formal balloting takes place even in those regions where there is only one declared candidate per available seat.

In the African category, Uganda received 181 votes from the 192 members of the General Assembly. Madagascar, which was not a declared candidate, received two votes.

Mexico was the only declared candidate in the Latin American and Caribbean grouping, and it picked up 185 votes. Brazil received one vote and there were six abstentions.

Two declared candidates competed in the Asian category, and Japan received 158 votes while Iran picked up 32.

In the Western European and Others group, three countries contested for two seats. Turkey won 151 votes, Austria picked up 133 and Iceland received 87.

The Council’s five other non-permanent members, whose terms end on 31 December 2009, are Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Viet Nam. The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.

© Scoop Media