The UN General Assembly Monday elected DR Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia to serve as non-permanent Members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2006.
They will fill the seats vacated on 31 December by Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Philippines and Romania.
Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Japan and Tanzania will continue to serve as elected Council members during 2006, for the second of their two-year terms.
The five non-permanent Members were to be elected according to the following pattern: three from Africa and Asia, one from Eastern Europe and one from Latin America and the Caribbean.
There was an understanding to the effect that, of the three States to be elected from Africa and Asia, two should be from Africa and one from Asia.
The results of the balloting were as follows:
African and Asian States
Number of ballot papers: 191
Number of invalid ballots: 0
Number of valid ballots: 191
Abstentions: 2
Number of members voting: 189
Required majority: 126
Number of votes obtained:
Congo 188
Ghana 184
Qatar 186
Indonesia 1
Latin American and Caribbean States
Number of ballot papers: 191
Number of invalid ballots: 0
Number of valid ballots: 191
Abstentions: 4
Number of members voting: 187
Required majority: 125
Number of votes obtained:
Peru 144
Nicaragua 43
Having obtained the required two-third majority, DR Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia were elected to the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2006.
Kilde: www.runiceurope.org
