Today at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the General Assembly held a pivotal vote to determine five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the 2026 to 2027 term. After a round of voting, the seats were claimed by Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia. All five nations garnered strong support, with Bahrain leading at 186 votes, followed closely by DRC with 183, Liberia at 181, Colombia with 180, and Latvia securing 178 votes. These countries will officially take their seats on January 1, 2026, replacing Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia.
Let’s break it down:
- This will be Colombia’s eighth time-serving on the Council.
- DRC returns for its third term.
- Bahrain and Liberia each mark their second time at the table.
- And in a historic first, Latvia joins the Council for the very first time.
The United Nations Security Council, the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, includes five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—alongside ten non-permanent members who serve staggered two-year terms.
Each year, five of these non-permanent seats are up for election, distributed by regional representation. In this round:
- Two seats went to Africa,
- One to Asia-Pacific,
- One to Latin America and the Caribbean,
- And one to Eastern Europe.
To secure a seat, each candidate needed a minimum of 129 votes—a two-thirds majority of the 193 UN member states. As these five nations prepare to join one of the world’s most powerful decision-making bodies, the international community will be watching closely to see how they contribute to global peace, diplomacy, and cooperation.
Reporting by Ehud Jones.
