1991 United Nations Security Council election
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The 1991 United Nations Security Council election was held on 16 October 1991 during the Forty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
(for the first time), Hungary,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Morocco, and Venezuela, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1992.


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. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election. 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, the five available seats are allocated as follows: *Two for
African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
countries, one of them being the "Arab Swing Seat" (held by
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
and the Zaire) *One for the Asian Group (now the Asia- Pacific Group"Asian group of nations at UN changes its name to Asia-Pacific group"
''Radio New Zealand International'', 2011-08-31.) (held by Yemen) *One for Latin America and the Caribbean (held by Cuba) *One for the
Eastern European Group The Group of Eastern European States (EEG) is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 23 Member States from Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue ...
(held by Romania) 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.


Endorsed candidates

Prior to the actual vote at the General Assembly, the Chairmen of the respective regional groups told the Assembly what countries enjoyed the endorsement of their respective regions. Mr. Flores Bermudez, the
Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations ( es, Representante Permanente de Honduras ante las Naciones Unidas) is the Chief of Mission of the delegation of Honduras, and highest permanent representative of the Government of ...
, had verified the endorsement of Venezuela for the Latin American and Caribbean Group. Mr. Goshu of Ethiopia verified the candidacies of both Cape Verde and Morocco as endorsed candidates for the African Group. Mr. Hatano of Japan verified the candidacy of Japan as the endorsed candidate for the Asian Group. Mr. Podtserob of the Soviet Union verified the support of the
Eastern European Group The Group of Eastern European States (EEG) is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 23 Member States from Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue ...
for the candidacy of Hungary.


Result

Voting was conducted on a single ballot. Ballots containing more states from a certain region than seats allocated to that region were invalidated. There was a total of 161 ballot papers.


See also

* List of members of the United Nations Security Council * Japan and the United Nations


References


External links


UN Document A/46/PV.32
Official record of General Assembly meeting, 16 October 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Security Council election, 1991 1991 elections
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
Non-partisan elections 1991 in international relations