1979 United Nations Security Council election

The 1979 United Nations Security Council election was held from 26 October 1979 to 7 January 1980 during the Thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected East Germany, Mexico, Niger, the Philippines, and Tunisia, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing January 1980. Taking 155 rounds of voting to resolve, it remains the longest Security Council election in history. Additionally, this was the first time Niger was elected and the only time East Germany was elected member of the Council.

1979 United Nations Security Council election

← 1978 26 October 1979–7 January 1980 1980 →

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


Members before election

 Gabon (Africa)
 Nigeria (Africa)
 Kuwait (Asia, Arab)
 Bolivia (LatAm&Car)
 Czechoslovakia (E. Europe)

New Members





Rules

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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.[1][2] A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.[3]

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,[4] 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.

Results

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Day 1

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Member Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5
  Tunisia 143
  Niger 140
  East Germany 133
  Philippines 131
  Cuba 77 79 78 79 80
  Colombia 68 66 66 65 61
  Peru 2
  Yugoslavia 2
  Brazil 1
  Bulgaria 1
  South Yemen 1
  Jordan 1
  Libya 1
  Romania 1
  Zaire 1
abstentions 0 3 3 4 3
invalid ballots 0 0 0 0 0
required majority 99 97 96 96 96
ballot papers 148 148 147 148 147
Source:[6]

Day 2

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Day 3

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Day 4

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Day 5

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Day 6

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ United Nations Security Council (2008), Repertoire of the practice of the Security Council, United Nations Publications, p. 178, ISBN 9789211370300
  2. ^ Conforti, Benedetto (2005), The law and practice of the United Nations, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p. 61, ISBN 9004143092
  3. ^ Charter of the United Nations, Article 23
  4. ^ Resolution 1991 A (XVIII), dated 1963-12-17, in force 1965-08-31.
  5. ^ "Asian group of nations at UN changes its name to Asia-Pacific group", Radio New Zealand International, 2011-08-31.
  6. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Forty-seventh Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Friday, 26 October 1979. (A/34/PV.47) 26 October 1979
  7. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Forty-eighth Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Friday, 26 October 1979. (A/34/PV.48) 26 October 1979
  8. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Fiftieth Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 30 October 1979. (A/34/PV.50) 30 October 1979
  9. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Fifty-third Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Friday, 2 November 1979. (A/34/PV.53) 2 November 1979
  10. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Eighty-third Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Thursday, 29 November 1979. (A/34/PV.83) 29 November 1979
  11. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Eighty-ninth Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Wednesday, 5 December 1979. (A/34/PV.89) 5 December 1979
  12. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Ninetieth Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Wednesday, 5 December 1979. (A/34/PV.90) 5 December 1979
  13. ^ U.N. General Assembly, 34th session. Official Record of the Ninety-eighth Meeting, Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 11 December 1979. (A/34/PV.98) 11 December 1979
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  • UN Document A/59/881 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica containing a record of Security Council elections up to 2004