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The United Nations General Assembly elected five new non-permanent members to the Security Council on Wednesday, filling seats that will become vacant at the end of 2026 as Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan secured the votes needed to join the world's most powerful multilateral body.
The incoming members will replace Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia when their terms expire, taking up two-year mandates running from Jan. 1, 2027 through Dec. 31, 2028.
The sharpest contest of the election unfolded in the Asia-Pacific Group, where Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines competed for the region's single available seat. Neither country secured the required two-thirds majority of General Assembly members in the first two rounds, forcing a rare third ballot.
Kyrgyzstan ultimately prevailed with 142 votes against 49 for the Philippines, crossing the threshold needed for election. It will be the Central Asian nation's first-ever seat on the Security Council.
In the remaining contests, which proceeded without competitive runoffs, Trinidad and Tobago received the highest vote count of any candidate, securing 181 votes, followed by Zimbabwe with 182. Portugal received 134 votes and Austria 131.
Seats were distributed according to the standard regional formula: two to the African Group, one to the Asia-Pacific Group, one to the Latin American and Caribbean Group, and one to the Eastern European Group. Candidates must clear a two-thirds majority, equivalent to 128 votes in a round, to be elected.
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Austria and Portugal are both returning to the Council for a fourth time, while Zimbabwe will serve its third term and Trinidad and Tobago its second.
Kyrgyzstan's election marks its debut on the body. The Security Council consists of five permanent members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, alongside 10 non-permanent members serving staggered two-year terms, with five seats contested each year by the General Assembly's 193 member states.
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