The UN General Assembly on Friday elected Gabon, Ghana, Albania, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term starting on Jan. 1, 2022.
The five countries contested unopposed for a spot on the 15-member body charged with maintaining international peace and security.
Seats are allocated to regional groups to ensure geographical representation. Even when delegates are running unopposed in their group, they still require more than two-thirds of the UN General Assembly to win.
Ghana was elected with185 votes followed by Gabon with 183 votes. Brazil got 181 votes, UAE secured179 votes and Albania 175 votes.
The newly elected five will join Kenya, India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway, the other non-permanent members. Earlier in the year, Kenya assumed its new position at the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, six months after it won the seat.
The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorising the deployment of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members –the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday backed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on for a second term, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for another five years starting Jan. 1, 2022.
