India, Ireland, Mexico, Norway elected non-permanent members of Security Council

UNITED NATIONS - The UN General Assembly on Wednesday elected India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway as non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term.

One non-permanent seat remains to be filled. Kenya and Djibouti, neither of which won the required two-third majority on Wednesday, will enter a run-off on Thursday, said Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the current General Assembly president, who announced the voting results.

The newly elected members of the Security Council will have a two-year term that begins on Jan. 1, 2021.

The Security Council has 15 members, five of which are permanent ones: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. The 10 non-permanent seats of the Security Council are allocated by geographic region, with five replaced each year.

India will replace Indonesia; Ireland and Norway will replace Belgium and Germany; Mexico will replace the Dominican Republic. South Africa will be replaced by the winner in the African group.

Canada, which was running in the Western Europe and Others Group against Ireland and Norway, failed to get a seat. Ireland in this group had the best luck as it won just enough votes to get elected. One vote less would have led to a run-off with Canada.

India and Mexico were running unopposed in their respective regional groups.

A candidate must obtain the support of two-thirds of the member states present and voting at the General Assembly session in order to secure a seat on the Security Council, regardless of whether the candidate is contested or not. This means that a minimum of 129 positive votes are required to win a seat if all 193 UN member states are present and voting.

In Wednesday's voting, India won 184 out of 192 votes; Mexico won 187 out of 187 votes; Norway won 130 out of 191 votes; Ireland won 128 out of 191 votes. Canada won 108 out of 191 votes.

In the African group, Kenya obtained 113 of 192 votes; Djibouti got 78 votes. Neither won the required two-third majority of 128 votes.

The Security Council is considered the most powerful body of the United Nations. The council, which is tasked to maintain international peace and security, can make legally binding decisions and has the power to impose sanctions and authorize the use of force.