Five countries set to run unopposed for non-permanent Security Council seats

The General Assembly is expected to elect Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting on 1 January next year.

The five countries are set to run unopposed in their respective regions when voting takes place tomorrow at United Nations Headquarters in New York. This would mark the first time since 2004 that there has been a Security Council election with no contested seats.

Gabon and Nigeria have been endorsed as candidates by the African group and, if chosen, would succeed Burkina Faso and Libya. Brazil is set to replace Costa Rica in the Latin American and Caribbean category.

In Eastern Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only declared candidate for the seat currently held by Croatia, while Lebanon won regional endorsement from the Asian group to succeed Viet Nam.

Council elections are conducted by secret ballot in the General Assembly, and winning candidates requires a two-thirds majority of ballots of members present and voting. Formal balloting takes place even when there is only one declared candidate per available seat.

The five countries chosen tomorrow will join Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda, whose terms on the 15-member body end on 31 December 2010. The five permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.