On 14 October 1997, the General Assembly elected five new members to the Security Council. Those elected were: Bahrain, Brazil, Gabon, Gamiba and Slovenia. Their two-year terms begin in January. To win a seat, a country needs a two-thirds majority of the votes of those present for the secret balloting. Seats are allocated on a regional basis.
Bahrain, Gabon and Gambia were the only candidates for the three vacancies from among the African and Asian States. They were elected nearly unanimously (a single write-in vote was cast for Zambia). Brazil was the only candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean States, and was elected nearly unanimously (a single write-in vote was cast for Argentina).
Two candidates ran for the Eastern European seat: Slovenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Slovenia decisively won with 140 votes (required majority: 114), while the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia only got 30 votes.
In comparison to the hotly-contested 1996 elections, the 1997 elections were surprisingly quiet.