SUNS  4299 Monday 12 October 1998



UNITED NATIONS: MALAYSIA, NAMIBIA AND ARGENTINA WIN COUNCIL SEATS

United Nations, Oct 8 (IPS) - Malaysia led a group of five nations which easily won election to the U.N. Security Council Thursday in the first round of voting - a rare occurrence in the combative
world of UN politics.

In contrast with previous years, when nations have fought for several rounds to win a coveted seat on the 15-nation Security Council, the five winners easily garnered the necessary support from two-thirds of voting members in the 185-nation General Assembly.

Malaysia, which ran unopposed among Asian states, led the pack with 174 votes, despite worries that the recent dismissal, arrest and beating of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim might cost it votes. It will begin a two-year term in January, occupying the seat previously held by Japan.

Other easy winners were Argentina, Latin America's regional candidate, which won 171 votes, and Namibia, from Africa, which received 167. They will be filling seats vacated respectively by Costa Rica and Kenya.

The only competition for seats was among "Western European and other" nations, a category which this year pitted Canada, the Netherlands and Greece against each other to capture two seats being vacated by Portugal and Sweden.

The two winners, Canada (131 votes) and the Netherlands (122), easily cleared the level of 117 seats needed to secure approval by two-thirds of the 176 voting members in the first round. Greece got only 87 votes despite a lengthy campaign for Council membership.