The United Nations General Assembly Wednesday elected Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on January 1, 2027.
Five countries elected to UN Security Council; Kyrgyzstan wins first time
By Iftikhar Ali
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 03 (APP): The United Nations General Assembly Wednesday elected Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on January 1, 2027.
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. The Central Asian country will replace Pakistan whose 2-year term expires in December 2026.
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.
The Security Council 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. 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.
Zimbabwe will replace Somalia and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria will replace Denmark and Greece.
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.
