India elected unopposed as a non-permanent member to UNSC

United Nations:India on Thursday was elected as a non-permanent member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from the Asia-Pacific category for 2021-22 term.

This is for the eight time that India has been elected to UNSC.Among the seven nations vying for the seat, India was standing unopposed from the block for 2021-22 term. This is for the eighth time that India has been elected to the expanded Security Council.

Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in a tweet said, "Member States elect India to the non-permanent seat of the Security Council for the term 2021-22 with overwhelming support. India gets 184 out of the 192 valid votes."  

India hopes to utilize its eighth term to further construct its case for a permanent seat in United Nations Security Council, something that it has been pushing throughout recent years along with other claimants such as Japan, Germany and Brazil.

India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had laid out India's priorities and approaches when the country had another term on the Security Council."Reformed Multilateralism to reflect contemporary realities" will be one of India's priorities, the minister had said.

Each new Security Council member needs to win two-third of the votes cast -- meaning 128 votes if all 193 nations vote. Delegates could have to vote multiple times to certify a winner.United Nation Security Council (UNSC) has 15 members. Of these, five are permanent and 10 are non-permanent members.

The permanent ones - called the "P-5"-are the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China. Half the non-permanent members are elected every year, each for a two-year term, starting January 1.(UNI)