EU member Slovenia overwhelmingly defeats Moscow ally Belarus for a seat on the UN Security Council

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In an election reflecting opposition to Russia's war on Ukraine, European Union member Slovenia defeated on Tuesday by an overwhelming majority Moscow's close ally, Belarus, for a seat on the UN Security Council from January.

The race between the two members of the Eastern European group UN was the only contested election for five seats in the UN's most powerful body, and was closely watched due to the two countries' opposing views on Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 .

In the secret ballot election for the 193-member General Assembly, Slovenia got 153 votes while Belarus only got 38 votes.

The other four countries elected to the Security Council for a two-year term were Guyana which received 191 votes, Sierra Leone 188 votes, Algeria 184 votes and South Korea 180 votes.

The five new Council members will begin their terms on January 1, replacing five countries whose two-year terms end on December 31: Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates.

The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are allocated to the groups, which usually select the candidates, but sometimes fail to agree on an uncontested slate.