by 113 voices against 55 in favour of Mauritius.
The Security Council – the highest decision making body in the United Nations Organisation in matters of international peace and security – is made up of five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. To those five permanent members are added ten non-permanent members chosen by the General Assembly of the United Nations for a period of two years. Sudan had put forward its candidature for one of those seats. The Sudanese Government should have been better inspired in not bombing UN installations on several occasions prior to the vote ( Read VS 3rd Quarter). Despite the well-established tradition that the permanent members abstain from direct interference in these elections, the United States waged a campaign against the admission of Sudan. They put forward the sanctions that were slammed on this country by the United Nations for support  to international terrorism. Uganda endeavoured to swing the votes of the African States against Khartoum on the ground  of ‘the unbelievable terrorist activities Sudan was indulging into against Uganda by kidnapping Ugandan children’. The Sudanese Bishops, scores of Human Rights societies including Vigilance Soudan, voiced their indignation at the mere thought that Sudan could be given a seat in the Security Council. Some argued that they were violating all human rights, others that they had launched a systematic campaign of either racial cleansing, or genocide.
On the other hand, Sudan’s candidature was backed up by  the Arab States and a part of Africa, the South of Africa voting for Mauritius. According to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, Sudan approached him with a bargain which was turned down:  Sudan would withdraw its candidature, and the United States had the UN sanctions lifted.  
Voting is carried out through secret ballots. There are, however, persistent rumours going around that France and at least part of  the European Union, most unfortunately, voted for Sudan.