For the first time in its history, Kyrgyzstan was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Its term at the UN will begin on January 1, 2027, and run until the end of 2028.
The vote took place on June 3 at the UN General Assembly in New York. A total of 142 states voted for Kyrgyzstan's candidacy from Asia. The Philippines, competing for the Asian seat on the UN Security Council, received 49 votes. This country has served several terms as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Germany, which had held the seat for several consecutive terms, lost its seat to Portugal and Austria, fell short of the required number of votes.
The winner of the Asian candidate was determined only after four rounds of voting. In the first rounds, neither Kyrgyzstan nor the Philippines were able to secure the required two-thirds majority of the UN General Assembly votes.
Kyrgyzstan will take the seat currently occupied by Pakistan on the Security Council.
After the announcement of the voting results, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov congratulated the people of Kyrgyzstan on this occasion.
"We will be writing a new page in the history of the UN. Congratulations, compatriots!" he wrote on social media.
In May of this year, he appealed to the leaders of UN member states to support Kyrgyzstan's candidacy. He emphasized that the republic had never previously served on the Security Council and also stated the need for greater representation of small, developing, and landlocked states in key international institutions.
All Central Asian countries had previously expressed support for Kyrgyzstan's candidacy. A corresponding joint appeal was circulated at the end of 2025 through the permanent missions of the region's states to the UN.
Bishkek stated that, if elected, it intends to pay special attention to preventive diplomacy, peaceful conflict resolution, trust-building between countries, climate security, and the protection of the most vulnerable groups. The Kyrgyz side also emphasized its commitment to the principles of international law and the UN Charter.
After its election, Kyrgyzstan first congratulated neighboring Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan was already a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2027-2028.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
June 4, 2026