5 Countries Elected to Rotating Seats on UN Security Council

The United Nations on June 3 elected five new members to take over the rotating spots on the powerful but divided Security Council.

The U.N. General Assembly named Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad ​and Tobago, and Zimbabwe to the Security Council, starting on Jan. 1, 2027.

The council is composed of 15 members, with five permanent members—China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK, and the United States—who have veto-wielding powers.

There are 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms, with five seats up for election each year.

The non-permanent member slots are contested by group. This year, Portugal (134 votes) and Austria (131 votes) came in first and second for the Western European and ​Others Group, replacing Denmark and Greece.

Germany, which lobbied hard for a seat, came in third with 104 votes. Germany had been a member of the UN Security Council six times previously, most recently in 2019-2020.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul congratulated the newly elected members, especially Portugal and Austria.

“I am convinced they will work to advance peace [and] security for the benefit of the global community. Germany will stay committed to peace [and] security worldwide [and] to a U.N. capable of action,” the German minister wrote on X.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry said its election is a “strong international sign of confidence” in the country.

Kyrgyzstan defeated the Philippines, 142 votes to 49, to be the representative for the Asia-Pacific Group, replacing Pakistan.

Zimbabwe will replace Somalia, and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama.

​The other five non-permanent members—Bahrain, Colombia, Congo, Latvia, and Liberia—will continue to serve on the council until the end of 2027.

Germany Blames Russia for Loss

The Security Council is the only U.N. body that can make legally-binding decisions, ​such as authorizing the use of force or imposing sanctions.

However, due to Russia’s veto power, it has failed to make progress on issues like the Ukraine war.

Wadephul blamed Russia for Germany’s failure to be returned to the Security Council.

“Obviously, the result is a real disappointment,” the foreign minister told reporters.

He accused Russia of campaigning against Germany because it supported Ukraine.

“It also may have cost us votes that Germany must always assume a special responsibility for Israel with regard to the Middle East conflict,” Wadephul said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the allegations on June 4, suggesting that the outcome reflected how the democratic system works.

“There are 10 members elected for two years based on reputation. There are so-called geographical groups that nominate their candidates. Everyone goes through a selection process and a vote. Essentially, that’s democracy. This year, Germany, among many others, was a candidate, but Germany wasn’t elected,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to the state-run news agency TASS.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.