UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday elected Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2027.
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.
UN General Assembly ELECTS following States as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning 1 Jan 2027:
🇦🇹 Austria
🇵🇹 Portugal
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
🇿🇼 ZimbabweVoting continues for the remaining one seat from the Asia-Pacific States. pic.twitter.com/JRhZ8QKLu2
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) June 3, 2026
The contest between the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan for the seat for the Asia-Pacific Group went to four rounds of voting, with Kyrgyzstan eventually achieving the necessary two-thirds majority and securing its first-ever UN Security Council seat by 142 votes to 49.
In a third round of restricted ballot, UN General Assembly ELECTS 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning in January 2027. pic.twitter.com/rVualJl2zS
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) June 3, 2026
The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorising the 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, and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria will replace Denmark and Greece. Kyrgyzstan will replace Pakistan.
Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia and Liberia will continue to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council until the end of 2027.
On Tuesday, the General Assembly elected Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman as president of the 193-member body for its 81st session, which begins in September.
