5 candidates win UN Security Council seats, Azerbaijan to be replaced

PanARMENIAN.Net - Saudi Arabia and Chad easily won coveted seats on the UN Security Council on Thursday, October 17 despite criticism from human rights groups that their rights records are abysmal, RIA Novosti said.

Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile also won seats.

The five candidates endorsed by regional groups faced no opposition because there were no contested races for the first time in several years.

In the first round of voting by the 193-member General Assembly, Lithuania was the top vote-getter with 187 votes followed by Nigeria and Chile with 186 votes, Chad with 184 votes and Saudi Arabia with 176 votes.

A two-thirds majority of those voting was needed to win.

Security Council seats are highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security, in places like Syria, Iran and North Korea, as well as the UN's far-flung peacekeeping operations.

The 15-member council includes five permanent members with veto power – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – and 10 nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.

The five countries elected Thursday will assume their posts on Jan. 1 and serve through the end of 2015.

They will replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.