India To Get Non-Permanent Seat In UN Security Council? Elections To Be Held On June 17 | Here's All You Need To Know

In the Asia-Pacific category, India is a candidature for a non-permanent seat for the 2021-22 term and the selection of New Delhi is confirmed because it is the only candidate for the lone seat from the category.

New York: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: India’s candidature in the five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council will be mostly sealed after the elections are held on June 17, according to the world body's provisional programme released on Monday. The programme was released amid France taking over the Presidency of the 15-nation Council for the month of June. The election will be held according to the informal provisional programme of work of the Security Council for June. In the Asia-Pacific category India is a candidature for a non-permanent seat for the 2021-22 term and the selection of New Delhi is confirmed because it is the only candidate for the lone seat from the category. India’s candidature was endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, last year. It was decided by the General Assembly last week to conduct the Security Council elections under new voting arrangements while considering the restrictions due to Covid-19 outbreak, according to the news agency PTI report. It is to be noted that any change in the voting procedure will not affect India’s position much since it is the sole candidate from the Asia Pacific region and its term starts only in January 2021, as per the details of the PTI report. India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council several times during 1950 - 1951, 1967 - 1968, 1972 - 1973, 1977 - 1978, 1984 - 1985, 1991- 1992 and most recently in 2011- 2012. India has been trying to become a permanent member in an aim to bring reforms at the Security Council and pushing for its status saying it deserves to become a permanent member of the Council. How many members vote? Every year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of 10 in total) for a two-year term. The elections for UNSC seats are held in the General Assembly hall with each of the 193 member states casting its vote in a secret ballot. However, large meetings are postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic till end of June. What’s the new voting agreement? According to the new voting arrangement, President of the General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande will circulate a letter to members nations 10 days before the first round of the secret ballot is held. The letter will inform the member nations about 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. The voter can will visit the designated venue during the election day at the specific time slot to cast ballots. Only those votes casted in the ballot boxes will be accepted and no ballots will be accepted after designated time lapses. In case the total number of ballot papers cast in all the ballot boxes does not reach at least a majority of the members of the Assembly, then a new circular will be sent to Member nations suggesting a new date and time for the elections. The General Assembly President will circulate a letter to all Member States informing them of the results once the voting is complete and the ballots counted.