Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, addresses the general debate of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly. (UN Photo)

By Gary  Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –  NEW YORK-  The Republic of  Gabon  has won a seat on the  United Nations Security Council for 2022/23.  The Security Council is a body of 15 members, five of which are permanent and have veto power: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.  Albania, Brazil, Gabon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also elected by the 75th session of the General Assembly. According to the final tally of last Friday’s elections, Ghana received 185 votes, Gabon 183, UAE 179, Albania 175 and Brazil 181 votes. The powerful Security Council is the sole U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.  The five new council members will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing five countries whose two-year terms end on Dec. 31 — Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. 

Gabon joins Ghana as the other African nation elected seat on the UN Security Council. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had been in the running for the African non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

“We presented our candidacy in 2019 and we are fully committed to this important adventure. Being aware of the important geostrategic role that it plays for the maintenance of international peace and security, it is with humility and determination that the Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo reminds the world that it is located in the heart of Central Africa and at the junction of four Africa, North, South, East and West,”    DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi said last month. 

#RDC 29.05.2021|#PalaisdelaNation
Devant les ambassadeurs et Chefs des missions diplomatiques accrédités à Kinshasa réunis ce samedi au Palais de la Nation, le Président de la République, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo a réaffirmé la candidature de la #RDC, pic.twitter.com/vTrQxBRgjD

— Présidence RDC 🇨🇩 (@Presidence_RDC) May 29, 2021

However, the DRC decided to withdraw in favour of Gabon when President Tshisekedi  decided to retract his bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, a seat reserved for Central Africa from 2022.