The UN General Assembly has elected Japan, Turkey, Austria, Mexico and Uganda to seats on the Security Council for 2009-10, rejecting bids by Iran and Iceland.
As expected, Japan defeated Iran, which is under Security Council sanctions because of its nuclear program, for an Asian seat coming vacant on 1 January.
Japan got 158 votes from the 192-member assembly and Iran only 32.
In a three-way contest for two European seats, Iceland - an apparent victim of its grave financial crisis - scored 87 votes, well short of the two-thirds majority required. Turkey went through easily and Austria by a narrower margin.
The election of Mexico and Uganda had been virtually assured since they were unopposed in their regional groupings.
The General Assembly votes once a year for five of the ten non-permanent seats on the 15-nation council, the powerhouse of the UN with the ability to impose sanctions and dispatch peacekeepers.
The permanent members, which have veto power, are the US, Russia, Britain, France and China.
