Kenya and Djibouti will later today know which of them will take Africa’s non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, UNSC.
Regional votes were split between the two competing nations with Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia siding with Djibouti whiles Eritrea voted for Kenya.
“The story of how tiny Djibouti outflanked Kenya, a regional power, to obtain 78 votes for the UNSC seat is fascinating.
The Security Council is the U.N.’s most powerful body and has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms, with seats allocated to regional groups.
Normally, ambassadors from the 193 U.N. member states would meet in the horseshoe-shaped assembly chamber at U.N. headquarters overlooking New York’s East River and vote by secret ballot for new Security Council members.
