2013 United Nations Security Council election

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2013 United Nations Security Council election
Flag of the United Nations.svg
  2012 17 October and 6 December 2013 2014  

5 (of 10) non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council

UNSC 2014.svg
United Nations Security Council membership after the elections
  Permanent members
  Non-permanent members

Members before election
Flag of Togo.svg  Togo (Africa)
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco (Africa)a
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan (Asia–Pacific)
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala (GRULAC)
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan (EEG)

Elected Members
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad (Africa)
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria (Africa)
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan (Asia–Pacific)a
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile (GRULAC)
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania (EEG)


The 2013 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 October 2013 [1] during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The Assembly elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2014. [2] The following day, Saudi Arabia announced that it was declining the seat, accusing UNSC of using "double standards" and being unable to resolve important issues in the Middle East. [3] A second round of voting therefore took place on 6 December, [4] in which Jordan was elected to the council in lieu of Saudi Arabia.

Contents

This was the first time Chad and Lithuania were elected members of the Security Council.

Rules

The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. [5] [6] A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election. [7]

In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, [8] the five available seats are allocated as follows:

To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.

The five members are expected to serve on the Security Council for the 2014–15 period.

Candidates

African Group

Flag of Chad.svg  Chad [10] [11]
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria [10] [11]
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia [11] — Withdrew [12]

Asia-Pacific group

An Arab state is due to take a seat on account of the custom of rotation of the unofficial "Arab seat" between the Arab states belonging to the African and Asian groups and the expiry of the term of the previous Arab member, Morocco, whose term expires in 2013.

Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia [10] [11] [13]
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan — Declared candidacy after Saudi Arabia declined its election to the Council [4]

Latin American and Caribbean Group

Flag of Chile.svg  Chile [10] [11] [14]

Eastern European group

Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania [10] [11] [15]
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia [10] — Withdrew on 30 April 2013 for diplomatic and financial reasons [16]

Results

African and Asia-Pacific Groups

Day 1

African and Asia-Pacific Groups election results [17]
MemberRound 1
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 186
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 184
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 176
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 2
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 2
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 1
valid ballots191
abstentions0
present and voting191
required majority128

Rejection

Following the vote, Saudi Arabia, despite winning a seat, declined to take it, citing the UNSC's "double standards" in being allegedly ineffective in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, nuclear disarmament in the Middle East and putting an end to the Syrian civil war. [3] [18] This was the first time a state had rejected a Security Council seat. [19] Saudi Arabia's refusal of the seat surprised both United Nations diplomats and some observers inside the country, where the announcement of the election had been received favorably. [19] The Gulf Cooperation Council supported Saudi Arabia's bid. [20] In addition, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan suggested a distancing of Saudi Arabia–United States relations as a result of the same issue over the Syrian civil war, amongst other reasons. [21] On 12 November, Saudi Arabia formally declined the seat, advising the Secretary-General that it "would not be in a position to take the seat on the Security Council to which it was elected." [22]

Day 2

A second vote was held on 6 December to fill the vacancy created by the rejection of Saudi Arabia to take the seat it was elected to. Prior to the vote, the General Assembly honoured Nelson Mandela, who had died the previous day. There were 185 ballot papers. [23]

African and Asia-Pacific States election results [24]
MemberRound 1
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 178
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 1
valid ballots183
invalid ballots2
abstentions4
present and voting179
required majority120

Latin American and Caribbean Group

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results [17]
MemberRound 1
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 186
valid ballots191
abstentions5
present and voting186
required majority124

Eastern European Group

Eastern European Group election results [17]
MemberRound 1
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 187
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1
valid ballots190
invalid ballots1
abstentions2
present and voting188
required majority126

See also

Notes

  1. The Arab swing seat alternates every two years between the Asian and the African groups. [9]

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