Canada Drops Bid for UN Security Council Seat.

                                                                             Canada’s hopes of returning to the top body of the United Nations ended in crushing disappointment Tuesday when it withdrew from contention, handing a near-certain victory to Portugal.

Canada dropped out of the race because it did not have the numbers on the second ballot — 78 to Portugal's 113. A two-thirds majority is needed to win a seat.



It is the first time that Canada has failed in its bid for a Security Council seat. Canada has been on the Security Council six times, roughly once a decade, since the 1940s. The country's last term ended in 2000.

Some observers believe the Harper government's foreign policy is largely responsible for Tuesday's outcome, including its pro-Israel stance on the Middle East, cutting foreign aid to Africa, and also the move away from UN peacekeeping and toward the Afghan mission.

Germany won one of two seats up for grabs in the first round of voting earlier Tuesday.