1980 United Nations Security Council election

20 October – 13 November 1980

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


Members before election

New Members

Unsuccessful candidates
 Costa Rica (GRULAC)
 Cuba (GRULAC)
 Malta (WEOG)

The 1980 United Nations Security Council election was held from 20 October to 13 November 1980 during the Thirty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Ireland, Japan, Panama, Spain, and Uganda, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1981.

Rules

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.

Candidates

Africa and Asia

Western Europe and Others

The candidates for the Western European and Others Group were announced by its chairman, the delegate for New Zealand, prior to the first round of voting.[6]

Latin America and the Caribbean

  •  Costa Rica – Costa Rica was one of only two countries to declare its intention to seek the one Latin American seat prior to the election. It formally withdrew after the twenty-second round.[7]
  •  Cuba – Cuba was the other country that declared its candidacy prior to the election.[7] However, before the first round of voting, Cuba withdrew, citing conditions similar to the previous year's election, in which Cuba had been an unsuccessful candidate and which had lasted 155 rounds over three months.[6]
  •  Panama – Panama only declared its candidacy after fourteen rounds of inconclusive voting were already complete,[8] having initially endorsed Costa Rica, citing the election of Ronald Reagan as a compelling reason for Panama's presence on the council.[7]
Non-candidates
  •  Guyana – Having received a significant number of votes in the first few rounds, Guyana clarified that it was not a seeking a seat on the council and formally endorsed Costa Rica.[9]
  •  Nicaragua – Although receiving a significant number of votes in the middle rounds, the Nicaraguan government decided not to be a candidate in the election. It clarified this position during an extraordinary session of the Latin American Group, and the decision was communicated to the General Assembly through the group's chairman prior to the eleventh round of voting.[10]

Result

Voting was conducted on separate ballots for the three regional groups.

African and Asian States

African and Asian States election results
Member Round 1
 Japan141
 Uganda134
 Zimbabwe2
 Senegal1
 Chad1
abstentions3
invalid ballots0
required majority98

Source:[6]

Western European and Others Group

Western European and Others Group election results
Member Round 1
 Spain109
 Ireland107
 Malta74
invalid ballots0
abstentions2
required majority100

Source:[6]

Latin American and Caribbean Group

The election of one election of one Latin American or Caribbean state took several days to resolve.

Day 1

The first three rounds of voting took place during the 41st[6] and 42nd[11] plenary meetings of the General Assembly.

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results
Member Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
 Costa Rica897874
 Guyana266370
 Cuba9
 Nicaragua6
 Panama2
 Grenada1
 Peru1
 Trinidad and Tobago1
abstentions1511
invalid ballots100
required majority909496

Day 2

The fourth through eighth rounds of voting were held during the 43rd plenary meeting of the General Assembly.[9]

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results
Member Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8
 Costa Rica9084878686
 Guyana47362519
 Nicaragua22304060
 Cuba421
 Dominican Republic23
 Barbados1
 Chile1
 Peru11
 Panama1
abstentions61225
invalid ballots81100
required majority921009910098

Day 3

The ninth and tenth rounds of voting were held during the 47th plenary meeting of the General Assembly.[12]

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results
Member Round 9 Round 10
 Costa Rica8182
 Nicaragua6260
abstentions55
invalid ballots00
required majority9695

Day 4

The eleventh through thirteenth rounds of voting were held during the 51st plenary session.[10]

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results
Member Round 11 Round 12 Round 13 Round 14
 Costa Rica82848385
 Panama16382557
 Guyana12818
 Nicaragua10710
 Saint Lucia4
 Brazil324
 Cuba212
 Barbados1
 Grenada1
 Peru1
 Guatemala1
 Haiti1
abstentions3112
invalid ballots0000
required majority88959595

Day 5

The fifteenth through twenty-second rounds of voting were held during the 57th plenary meeting of the General Assembly.[8]

Latin American and Caribbean Group election results
Member Round 15 Round 16 Round 17 Round 18 Round 19 Round 20 Round 21 Round 22
 Costa Rica7571626259585352
 Panama7375798385889193
 Guyana31
 Barbados111
 Cuba1
 Ecuador111
 Nicaragua1
 Trinidad and Tobago1
abstentions11111122
invalid ballots10000000
required majority99981009998989697

Day 6

The twenty-third and final round of voting was held during the 61st plenary session of the General Assembly.[13]

Latin American and Caribbean States election results
Member Round 23
 Panama111
 Costa Rica16
 Cuba2
 Bolivia1
 Colombia1
 Honduras1
 Nicaragua1
 Peru1
 Suriname1
abstentions5
invalid ballots0
required majority90

See also

References

  1. United Nations Security Council (2008), Repertoire of the practice of the Security Council, 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. 1 2 3 4 5 U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-first Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Monday, 20 October 1980. (A/35/PV.41) 20 October 1980
  7. 1 2 3 U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-ninth Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Wednesday, 12 November 1980. (A/35/PV.59) 12 November 1980
  8. 1 2 U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 11 November 1980. (A/35/PV.57) 11 November 1980
  9. 1 2 U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-third Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 21 October 1980. (A/35/PV.43) 21 October 1980
  10. 1 2 U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Fifty-first Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Tuesday, 4 November 1980. (A/35/PV.51) 4 November 1980
  11. U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-second Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Monday, 20 October 1980. (A/35/PV.42) 20 October 1980
  12. U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Forty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Friday, 24 October 1980. (A/35/PV.47) 24 October 1980
  13. U.N. General Assembly, 35th session. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Sixty-seventh Meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, On Thursday, 13 November 1980. (A/35/PV.61) 13 November 1980
  • UN Document A/59/881 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica containing a record of Security Council elections up to 2004
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