The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January next year.

They will replace Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland, whose terms end on 31 December.

In a secret ballot, the elected countries secured the required two-thirds majority of Member States present and voting in the 193-member General Assembly.

The new members will join existing non-permanent members Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia, whose terms started on 1 January. The five permanent Council members, each wielding veto power, are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the UN Charter, the 15-member Security Council holds primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and all Member States are obligated to comply with its decisions.

Regional groups

The 10 non-permanent seats on the Security Council are distributed according to four regional groupings: Africa and Asia; Eastern Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Western European and other States group.

The candidates this year vied for five seats under three regional groups: two for African and Asia-Pacific (one each); one for Latin America and the Caribbean; and two for Western Europe and other States.

The newly elected members were endorsed by their respective regional groups and ran largely uncontested.

Vote tally

Overall, 190 Member States participated in the election, which required only a single round of balloting.

In the African and Asia-Pacific group, Pakistan received 182 votes and Somalia garnered 179 votes, with five countries abstaining.

In the Latin America and the Caribbean group, Panama obtained 183 votes and Argentina one, with six countries abstaining.

In the Western European and other States group, Denmark received 184 votes, Greece 182 votes, and Italy and Norway each receiving one vote; two countries abstained.