 "UN elects Bahrain, Colombia, DRC, Latvia, and Liberia to Security Council")
The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia to the UN Security Council for two-year terms beginning January 1, 2026.
The five nations, all running unopposed, secured more than two-thirds of the General Assembly vote as required. They will replace Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana, and Slovenia on the Council.
The Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body, includes five permanent members with veto power—Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States and ten elected members with rotating terms. The new members were chosen to maintain regional representation within the Council.
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.
With inputs from agencies
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