General Assembly Elects Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru, Poland as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council for 2018-2019

In a single round of voting today, the General Assembly elected Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru and Poland as non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two years.

They will fill seats to be vacated by Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay on 31 December.  Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sweden will continue as elected Council members, completing the second year of their respective terms in 2018.  All new Council members will take their seats on 1 January 2018.

The five non-permanent members were elected according to the following pattern:  three seats for the Group of African States and the Group of Asia-Pacific States, one for the Group of Eastern European States, and one for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.  All the new members met the required two-thirds majority and were elected in the first and only round of voting.

In a separate by-election, the Assembly voted in favour of the Netherlands assuming the Council seat that Italy was due to vacate on 31 December.  The two Member States had agreed to share the two-year term, beginning on 1 January 2017, after a winner failed to emerge after multiple rounds of voting to select a candidate from among the Western European and Other States.  (See Press Release GA/11796.)

Egypt’s representative expressed concern about the bilateral agreement by Italy and the Netherlands to share the term, cautioning that it could have a negative impact on the Council.  As an exceptional arrangement, it should not set a precedent for the future, he emphasized.

The General Assembly’s next meeting will be announced.

Voting Results