New Delhi: With India formally elected as non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council for a two-year term on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was “deeply grateful” for the overwhelming support from the international community.

There were five vacant seats in the UNSC, out of which four were filled by the first round of voting on Wednesday. Along with India, Kenya, Ireland, Mexico and Norway obtained the requisite two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.

However, the fifth African seat remained vacant and will go into second round with Kenya and Djibouti fighting it out.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, special rules were made for voting, with diplomats submitted their ballots at pre-arranged time slots in the General Assembly hall.

India was the sole candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. It’s victory was expected since it had already got endorsement from the 55-member Asia Pacific group, including China and Pakistan, last year.

Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.

“Deeply grateful for the overwhelming support shown by the global community for India's membership of the UN Security Council," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after the election on Thursday morning.

(with PTI inputs)

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