Saint Vincent & Grenadines on their Election to the UN Security Council 2020

Informal comments to the media from Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on the election of non-permanent members of the Security Council 2020. The General Assembly today (7 Jun) elected Viet Nam, Niger, Tunisia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Estonia as non-permanent members to the Security Council for a period of two years. There were seven candidates running for five seats: Viet Nam for the Asia-Pacific Group, Niger and Tunisia for the African Group, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and El Salvador for the Latin American and the Caribbean Group, Estonia and Romania for the Eastern European Group. The result of the secret ballot was as follows: Viet Nam received 192 votes, Niger: 191, Tunisia: 191, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 185 votes, and Estonia: 132 votes. The election went on a second round for the seat of the Eastern European Group contested by Estonia and Romania. The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said, “Saint Vincent and the Grenadines views this as a historic occasion. We are the smallest country ever to be elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. We stand steadfast on the fundamental principles of this organization, which was founded on the aftermath of the Second World War, to bring about peace and security.”