Foreign Desk Report
NEW YORK: According to the world body’s provisional programme, elections for five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) will be held on June 17.
The programme was released on Monday as France took over the presidency of the 15-nation Council for the month of June.
According to the informal provisional programme of work of the Security Council for this month, the elections for it are scheduled for June 17. India is a candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory is a given since it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the grouping. New Delhi’s candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.
The General Assembly last week adopted a decision to hold the Security Council elections under new voting arrangements taking into account restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From India’s perspective, any change in how the voting is conducted will not impact much since it is the sole candidate from the Asia Pacific region and its term starts only in January 2021. However, large in-person meetings at the world body’s headquarters stand postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic till the end of June. Under the new voting arrangement, the President of the General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, will circulate a letter to all Member States at least 10 working days prior to the first round of the secret balloting for the elections, informing them of the date on which the elections will be held, the number of vacant seats, the venue where ballots may be cast and other logistical details.
