UN General Assembly to elect new Security Council members, observing social distancing

The United Nations General Assembly is holding elections on Wednesday, including for two hotly contested seats on the UN Security Council. Five new council members are elected every year. Canada, Ireland and Norway are battling for two Western seats, while Kenya and Djibouti are competing for one African seat.

India is running unopposed for the Asia-Pacific seat and Mexico is running unopposed for the seat for Latin America and the Caribbean. The Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body has five permanent members and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

Normally, ambassadors from the 193 UN member states would meet in the assembly chamber and vote by secret ballot for new Security Council members.

However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, member states adopted a new procedure of voting at the assembly during spaced-out time slots on Wednesday to avoid a large gathering and ensure social distancing, AP reports.