Algeria, Sierra Leone Elected as Non-permanent African Members of UNSC

ADDIS ABABA – African Union has congratulated Algeria and Sierra Leone following their elections as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, representing the continent.

Overall, 192 countries voted today to fill three Council seats allocated to the Africa and Asia-Pacific Groups, and one each for Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Algeria and Sierra Leone, along with Guyna and South Korea, ran unopposed. Slovenia beat Belarus in the race for Eastern Europe, receiving 153 votes versus 38.

Following the election, African Union Commission chairperson Mousa Faki Mahamat expressed “immense pride” in the two newly elected African countries.

“Our warmest congratulations to Algeria and Sierra Leone upon their election as incoming non-permanent African members of the UN Security Council and the A3,” Mahamat said in tweet.

The two African countries, along with Guyana, South Korea, and Slovenia will serve for a two year term at the premier body for maintaining international peace and security.

They will take up seats currently occupied by Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates when their two-year terms end on 31 December.

The Security Council is composed of 15 countries, five of which – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision.

The remaining 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States, and in line with geographical distribution by region.

The five newly elected countries will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland as non-permanent members of the UNSC.

(EM/UN News)