Election Day Tomorrow…

…for open seats on the United Nations Security Council. The key race to watch is for the two open seats reserved for the Western Europe and Others Group (in UN-speak, WEOG). Three countries: Austria, Iceland and Turkey are vying for these two slots, making this the only competitive race for open, non-permanent seats on the council. (Yes, Iran is technically running against Japan. But that race won’t exactly be tight.)

To win a seat on the council a country must receive the votes of two thirds of the General Assembly. Voting is done by secret ballot and Iceland, Austria and Turkey have been politicking hard. (Read this post on what happens if no clear winners emerge from the first round of voting.) Iceland is touting it’s clean energy infrastructure as reason why it deserves a seat. (Iceland’s president, though, admitted that its current financial crisis might hurt its chances). Turkey may have received a boost this week by reportedly gaining the support of Latin America. Austria, for its part, is throwing a party at the Metropolitan Club on the eve of the vote.

So far, there is not much action on Intrade. Predictions, anyone?