Five countries elected to UN Security Council; Germany misses out
UN Security Council Election Results and Implications
Newly Elected Members for 2027-2028 Term
June 3 (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday elected Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe to the 15-member U.N. Security Council for two-year terms starting on January 1, 2027.
Germany's Unsuccessful Bid
Germany, which had lobbied hard for a seat, came third for the two places contested by the Western European and Others Group, with 104 votes, against 134 for Portugal and 131 for Austria.
Asia-Pacific Group Contest
The contest between the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan for the seat for the Asia-Pacific Group went to four rounds of voting, with Kyrgyzstan eventually achieving the necessary two-thirds majority and securing its first-ever Security Council seat by 142 votes to 49.
Structure and Function of the Security Council
Permanent and Non-Permanent Members
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.
Election Process for Non-Permanent Members
The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. This year, one comes from the Africa Group, one from the Latin American and Caribbean Group, one from the Asia-Pacific Group, and two from the Western European and Others Group.
Changes in Council Composition
Zimbabwe will replace Somalia and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria will replace Denmark and Greece. Kyrgyzstan will replace Pakistan.
Continuing Non-Permanent Members
Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia and Liberia will continue to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council until the end of 2027.
Other UN General Assembly Developments
On Tuesday, the General Assembly elected Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman as president of the 193-member body for its 81st session, which begins in September.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom;Editing by David Ljunggren and Sanjeev Miglani)
