NEW YORK: The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday elected Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on January 1, 2027. A third round of voting was being held to determine who would take the fifth available seat, the Philippines or Kyrgyzstan. 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 is the only UN 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.
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, Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria will replace Denmark and Greece. The Philippines and Kyrgyzstan are competing to replace Pakistan.
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