Portugal has been elected to a two-year seat on the UN Security Council after besting Canada in a second round of voting. The president of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, announced the tally.

Joseph Deiss: “Number of votes obtained: Portugal, 150; Canada, 32. Having obtained the required two-thirds majority and the largest number of votes, Portugal is elected to the Security Council. Portugal is elected a member of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on the 1st of January 2011.”

The Canadian bid had come under internal opposition in Canada over the Conservative government’s policies on global warming, indigenous rights and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Other countries elected to the Security Council on Tuesday were Germany, India, South Africa and Colombia.