The United Nations has confirmed that the election for non-permanent seats on the Security Council -- which pits Canada against Norway and Ireland -- will take place in June under unprecedented new rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The 193 ambassadors will cast their votes on behalf of their countries in a secret ballot with the three candidates vying for two available temporary seats on the UN's most powerful body.
The details were released in a memo that has been under consideration by the UN ambassadors for more than a week, and that carried a Friday-night deadline to reach a consensus. "This is not a military war we are facing. It's a health-care crisis and the biggest economic and financial crisis that we have seen since 1929."
Blanchard said he expected the race to be hotly contested in the "Western European and Others Group," the most competitive of the UN's geographic blocs, where Canada faces formidable opponents. Blanchard wouldn't say how much support Canada has been able to garner, but the secret balloting process in the UN has been notorious for deception that has seen countries promise support but take it away when an ambassador casts his or her secret vote.
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