October 15, 2015•Update: October 20, 2015
NEW YORK
The United Nations General Assembly is due to vote on five temporary seats on the Security Council on Thursday in an uncontested election.
The election of Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay are virtually certain, as they are running unopposed as sole candidates for their regional groups.
They will replace Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania and Nigeria, and serve two-year terms beginning Jan. 1.
Regardless of whether the election is uncontested, the candidates are required to obtain the votes of two-thirds of the 193 UN member states, but diplomats expect no surprises.
The Security Council comprises 15 members, with five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. -- having the right of veto.
When elected, Ukraine will have a seat alongside Russia, a country with which it has had tense relations.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told reporters in New York that the election would have a special importance for his country against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict.
Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of supporting a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where a fighting that began in April last year has left more than 8,000 people dead, according to the UN.
All five candidates of Thursday's election have previously served on the UN's most powerful body, with Japan serving on ten previous occasions, the latest of which was in 2009-2010.
