By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected five non-permanent members to the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2025-2026 term.
Somalia, Pakistan, Panama, Greece and Denmark won elections at the General Assembly.
Somalia received 179 votes, Pakistan 182, Panama 183, Greece 182 and Denmark 184, meeting the criterion of obtaining two-thirds of the votes to replace Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland.
The new members will serve as non-permanent UNSC members from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026.
Pakistan previously served seven times as a non-permanent UNSC member, Panama five, Denmark four, Greece twice and Somalia once.
In the Security Council, which has five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US -- there are also 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Five of the non-permanent members are elected every year.
In elections conducted according to geographical distribution, two seats are allocated to the African Group, one to the Asia-Pacific Group, one to the Latin American and Caribbean Group and one to the Eastern European Group.
Candidates must receive two-thirds of the votes, which corresponds to 129 votes out of the 193-member General Assembly.