Nigeria, Bosnia, Brazil, Gabon and Lebanon yesterday easily won seats on the Security Council of the United Nations most powerful body to serve two-year terms.
Unlike most previous Security Council elections, there were no contested seats this year. As a result, the five countries nominated by regional groups won easy election on the first ballot in voting by the 192-member General Assembly.
“We have two large countries in Brazil and Nigeria who carry the weight of being a regional power. We have two countries in Lebanon and Bosnia that have been through conflict and can bring their own national experiences to the Security Council,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador John Sawers said.
Information and Communications minister Dora Akunyili said the election of Nigeria into the council is an endorsement of President Yar’adua’s leadership qualities.
Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator Jibril Aminu said the election proves that Nigeria is not a pariah state and is respected on the international scene.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Professor Ibrahim Gambari said it is an opportunity for Nigeria to prove to the world in the next two years that it is a respectable member of the comity of nations.
Ten of the council’s 15 seats are filled by regional groups for two-year stretches, and five non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly every year. To win, candidates must get a two-thirds majority of the assembly members voting by secret ballot.
The five other Security Council seats are occupied by its veto-wielding permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
The five countries newly elected council members will replace Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Vietnam. The five countries elected last year — Austria, Mexico, Japan, Turkey and Uganda — will remain on the council until January 1.
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