Kenya beats Djibouti to get UNSC's African seat

In the first round of voting on Wednesday, neither country received the required two-thirds majority in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.In a second round on Thursday, where a two-thirds majority of 128 votes was required, Kenya received 129 votes and Djibouti received 62 votes. Kenya will now join Norway, Ireland, India and Mexico, who were elected Wednesday as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting January 1.

Kenya has defeated Djibouti for an African seat on the powerful U.N. Security Council in a second round of voting held under dramatically different procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first round of voting on Wednesday, neither country received the required two-thirds majority in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. In a second round on Thursday, where a two-thirds majority of 128 votes was required, Kenya received 129 votes and Djibouti received 62 votes.

Kenya will now join Norway, Ireland, India, and Mexico, who were elected Wednesday as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting January 1. In previous years, ambassadors from all U.N. member states have gathered in its vast General Assembly chamber to vote by secret ballot, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world body to adopt new rules.

To avoid a large gathering and ensure social distancing, ambassadors wearing masks were given time slots for voting and spread out in the chamber to mark their ballots. The 15-member Security Council has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France — and 10 elected members with seats allocated to regional groups and five new members elected every year.

Because of its powers including authorizing war and imposing sanctions, winning a seat on the Security Council is considered a pinnacle of achievement for many countries. It gives them a strong voice on issues of international peace and security ranging from conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Africa and Ukraine to the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and Iran, and attacks by extremist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida.