Five countries elected to UN Security Council for 2026/27

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia to the 15-member U.N. Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2026.

The Security Council is the only U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. Bahrain, Colombia, the DRC, Latvia, and Liberia - who were all elected in uncontested slates - will replace Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana and Slovenia.

To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.

Bahrain received 186 votes, DRC 183 votes, Liberia 181 votes, Colombia 180 votes and Latvia 178 votes.

The General Assembly on Monday elected former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock as president of the 193-member body for its 80th session, which begins in September.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)