The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday elected Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Trinidad ​and Tobago, and Zimbabwe to the 15-member U.N. Security Council for ‌two-year terms starting on January 1, 2027.

Germany, which had lobbied hard for a seat, came third for the two places contested by the Western European and ​Others Group, with 104 votes, against 134 for Portugal ​and 131 for Austria.

The contest between the Philippines and ⁠Kyrgyzstan for the seat for the Asia-Pacific Group went to ​four rounds of voting, with Kyrgyzstan eventually achieving the necessary two-thirds majority ​and securing its first-ever Security Council seat by 142 votes to 49.

The Security Council is the only U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions ​such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has ​five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States.

The ‌remaining ⁠10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. This year, one comes from the Africa Group, one from the Latin American and Caribbean Group, one from the Asia-Pacific Group, and two ​from the Western ​European and Others ⁠Group.

Zimbabwe will replace Somalia, and Trinidad and Tobago will replace Panama, while Portugal and Austria ​will replace Denmark and Greece. Kyrgyzstan will replace Pakistan.

Bahrain, Colombia, ⁠Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia, and Liberia will continue to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council until the end of 2027.

⁠On ​Tuesday, the General Assembly elected Bangladeshi Foreign ​Minister Khalilur Rahman as president of the 193-member body for its 81st session, which ​begins in September.