New York(People's Daily) - South Africa, Belgium, Dominica, Germany and Indonesia were elected on Friday as new non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2019. The election was held at the UN General Assembly 93rd plenary meeting in New York City. 

(File photo)

The five countries were elected after one round of voting. The number of votes received by South Africa, Belgium, Dominica, Germany and Indonesia was 183, 181, 184,184 and 144 respectively.

Non-permanent members of the Security Council are elected by the UN General Assembly and need to obtain a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly. The new members will replace Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Bolivia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

The Security Council has a total of 15 members, of which China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members. The remaining 10 members are non-permanent members. The 10 non-permanent seats are divided by region: 2 in Asia, 3 in Africa, 2 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1 in Eastern Europe, and 2 in Western Europe and other countries. Non-permanent members have a two-year term of office, with elections held each year. They cannot be re-elected.

The other five non-permanent members of the Security Council are Peru, Poland, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Kuwait. Their term of office ends at the end of 2019.