Sixty-third General Assembly

Plenary

28^th Meeting (AM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS AUSTRIA, JAPAN, MEXICO, TURKEY, UGANDA

TO TWO-YEAR TERMS ON SECURITY COUNCIL

 

In only one round of voting, the General Assembly today elected Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda to serve as five non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2009.

They will fill the seats that will be vacated by Belgium, Indonesia, Italy, Panama and South Africa.  Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Viet Nam will continue to serve as elected Council members during 2009, for the second year of their respective terms.  All new Council members will take their seats on 1 January 2009.

The five non-permanent members were elected according to the following pattern:  two from Africa and Asia, one from Western Europe and Other States, and one from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Voting Results

The results of the balloting were as follows:

African and Asian States
Number of ballot papers:	192
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	192
Abstentions:	1
Number of votes obtained:	191
Required majority:	128
Number of votes obtained by country:
Uganda	181
Japan	158
Iran	32
Madagascar	2
Latin American and Caribbean States
Number of ballot papers:	192
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	192
Abstentions:	6
Number of votes obtained:	186
Required majority:	124
Number of votes obtained by country:
Mexico	185
Brazil	1
Western European States
Number of ballot papers:	192
Number of invalid ballots:	0
Number of valid ballots:	192
Abstentions:	0
Number of votes obtained:	192
Required majority:	128
Number of votes obtained by country:
Turkey	151
Austria	133
Iceland	87
Australia	1

Having obtained the required two-thirds majority and the largest number of votes, Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda were elected to the Security Council for two-year terms, beginning on 1 January 2009.

The General Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m. Monday, 20 October, to discuss follow-up on the commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of the abolishment of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, as well as to conclude its joint debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the causes of conflict and promotion of peace in Africa, and the 2001-2010 Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries.

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For information media • not an official record