Philippines loses bid for UN Security Council seat to Kyrgyzstan

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines lost its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, June 3, defeated by Kyrgyzstan after four rounds of voting in the General Assembly. 

It was the first time Manila had failed to win a seat in the powerful UN council after four successful runs since 1957.

Kyrgyzstan claimed the single Asia-Pacific seat for the 2027-2028 term with 142 votes in the fourth round, above the 128 needed for a two-thirds majority. The Philippines received 49. 

The Philippines trailed Kyrgyzstan from the first round of voting, with Kyrgyzstan steadily widening its lead in each successive ballot. The vote margins were 105–85, then 110–81, and 123–68 before Kyrgyzstan secured the required two-thirds majority on the final ballot.

All votes were cast by secret ballot.

Kyrgyzstan will serve on the council for the first time when its term begins next year.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro expressed acceptance of the result shortly after the vote. 

"The Philippines respects the decision of the member states of the United Nations and extends its congratulations to the Kyrgyz Republic," she said in a statement, thanking the countries that supported Manila's campaign. 

Lazaro said the bid had been anchored on the country's commitment to "peace, dialogue, international law, and cooperation among nations."

Why Manila wanted the seat

The UN Security Council is the UN's most powerful body charged with maintaining international peace and security.

The council has 15 members in total. Five are permanent — China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States — and hold the veto, meaning any one of them can strike down a resolution no matter the votes.

The other 10 are non-permanent, elected by the 193-member General Assembly to two-year terms and divvied up among regional groups. It was one of those seats, reserved for the Asia-Pacific region, that the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan were competing for.

A non-permanent seat carries no veto. But it allows a country to join a council that can hammer out ceasefires, sanctions and peacekeeping missions — decisions that, unlike most General Assembly resolutions, bind every UN member.  

The Philippines last held a seat at the council in 2004-2005, and served three times before that, in 1957, 1963 and 1980-1981.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pursued the bid for more than three years. Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, and her predecessor, then-Secretary Enrique Manalo, often pressed the country's case in international summits and sought assurances of a vote from different nations' leaders and foreign affairs ministers. 

But how much the council can actually do in recent years has been in debate. 

The council has often drawn criticism for inaction on the world's worst conflicts, as its power to act is blunted by the veto wielded by its permanent members.  

Rivalry among the permanent members has left the council deadlocked over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, with vetoes repeatedly blocking action — most prominently in 2022, when Russia vetoed a resolution demanding it halt its invasion of Ukraine and pull out its troops. 

READ: Philippines joins UN demand for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine