Security Council Elections
Expected Action
On 17 October the General Assembly will hold elections for five non-permanent seats on the Security Council. The new members will take their seats on 1 January and will serve for the period 2009-2010.
Please see our Special Research Report of 29 August for a detailed description of the electoral process.
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Uganda for the one African seat;
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Iran and Japan for the one Asian seat;
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Mexico for the one Latin American seat; and
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Austria, Iceland and Turkey for the two seats in the Western European and Others (WEOG) Group.
Uganda and Mexico seem assured of being elected to the Council as they are candidates endorsed in their regional groups and face a “clean slate” situation with no other contenders. Nonetheless, since these are elections to a principal organ of the UN, formal balloting and a two-thirds majority are required.
There will be a contest for the remaining three seats: Iran and Japan are seeking the one Asian seat, while Austria, Iceland and Turkey are competing for the two WEOG seats. The WEOG election is being watched with interest as a close fight is expected among the three candidates.
The candidates this year range from one that has never served on the Council to another that has had nine terms. The table below illustrates the number of seats available to each region in the election, the declared candidates, and their previous experience on the Council.
More details about the established practices of the regional groups can be found in our Special Research Report of 29 August.
Selected General Assembly Documents |
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Other |
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Region |
Number of Seats Available in 2008 |
States Running |
Number of Years Served on the Council to Date |
Latin America & Caribbean |
1 |
Mexico |
Three terms comprising five years (1946, 1980-81 and 2002-03) |
Western Europe and Others |
2 |
Austria
Iceland
Turkey |
Two terms comprising four years (1973-74 and 1991-92)
Has never served
Three terms comprising five years (1951-52, 1954-55 and 1961 (split term)) |
Asia |
1 |
Iran
Japan |
One term of two years (1955-56)
Nine terms comprising 18 years (1958-59, 1966-67, 1971-72, 1975-76, 1981-82, 1987-88, 1992-93, 1997-98 and 2005-06) |
Africa |
1 |
Uganda |
Two terms comprising three years (1966 (split term) and 1981-82) |