Five countries have been elected as non-permanent members of theUN Security Councilfollowing a vote in the General Assembly.Algeria, Guyana, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Sloveniawill join the premier body for maintaining international peace and security, starting in January, serving for a two-year period. They were among six countries vying for five non-permanent seats around the Councils horseshoe-shaped table that will become vacant at the end of the year.

The five newly elected countries will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland as non-permanent members of the Council. They will take up seats currently occupied by Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates when their two-year terms end on 31 December.

The Security Council is composed of 15 countries, five of which China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision.

The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States, and in line with geographical distribution by region.