United Nations Security Council election, 1980

The 1980 United Nations Security Council election was held from 20 October to 13 November 1980 during the Thirty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Ireland, Japan, Panama, Spain, and Uganda, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1981.

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:

*One for African countries (held by Zambia)
*One for countries from the Asian Group (now called 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 Bangladesh)
*One for Latin America and the Caribbean (held by Jamaica)
*Two for the Western European and Others Group (held by Norway and Portugal)

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.

Candidates

Africa and Asia

*
*

Western Europe and Others

The candidates for the Western European and Others Group were announced by its chairman, the delegate for New Zealand, prior to the first round of voting.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-first Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Monday, 20 October 1980.'' (A/35/PV.41) 20 October 1980

*
*
*

Latin America and the Caribbean

* – Costa Rica was one of only two countries to declare its intention to seek the one Latin American seat prior to the election. It formally withdrew after the twenty-second round.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-ninth Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Wednesday, 12 November 1980.'' (A/35/PV.59) 12 November 1980
* – Cuba was the other country that declared its candidacy prior to the election. However, before the first round of voting, Cuba withdrew, citing conditions similar to the previous year's election, in which Cuba had been an unsuccessful candidate and which had lasted 155 rounds over three months.
* – Panama only declared its candidacy after fourteen rounds of inconclusive voting were already complete,U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 11 November 1980.'' (A/35/PV.57) 11 November 1980 having initially endorsed Costa Rica, citing the election of Ronald Reagan as a compelling reason for Panama's presence on the Council.

;Non-candidates
* – Having received a significant number of votes in the first few rounds, Guyana clarified that it was not a seeking a seat on the Council and formally endorsed Costa Rica.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-third Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 21 October 1980.'' (A/35/PV.43) 21 October 1980
* – Although receiving a significant number of votes in the middle rounds, the Nicaraguan government decided not to be a candidate in the election. It clarified this position during an extraordinary session of the Latin American Group, and the decision was communicated to the General Assembly through the group's chairman prior to the eleventh round of voting.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-first Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 4 November 1980.'' (A/35/PV.51) 4 November 1980

Result

Voting was conducted on separate ballots for the three regional groups.

African and Asian States

Source:

Western European and Others Group

Source:

Latin American and Caribbean Group

The election of one election of one Latin American or Caribbean state took several days to resolve.

Day 1

The first three rounds of voting took place during the 41st and 42ndU.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-second Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Monday, 20 October 1980.'' (A/35/PV.42) 20 October 1980 plenary meetings of the General Assembly.

Day 2

The fourth through eighth rounds of voting were held during the 43rd plenary meeting of the General Assembly.

Day 3

The ninth and tenth rounds of voting were held during the 47th plenary meeting of the General Assembly.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Friday, 24 October 1980.'' (A/35/PV.47) 24 October 1980

Day 4

The eleventh through thirteenth rounds of voting were held during the 51st plenary session.

Day 5

The fifteenth through twenty-second rounds of voting were held during the 57th plenary meeting of the General Assembly.

Day 6

The twenty-third and final round of voting was held during the 61st plenary session of the General Assembly.U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. ''Provisional Verbatim Record of the Sixty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Thursday, 13 November 1980.'' (A/35/PV.61) 13 November 1980

See also

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

References

External links

UN Document A/59/881
Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica containing a record of Security Council elections up to 2004

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1980 elections
1980
Non-partisan elections
1980 in international relations