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The U.N. General Assembly, in a rare contested election, chose Fiji's U.N. Ambassador on Monday as president of its 71st session beginning in September.
Ambassador Peter Thomson was one of two nominees for the year-long post along with Cyprus Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis. Thomson won in a close 94 to 90 vote with seven invalid ballots and one abstention.
Current assembly President Mogens Lykketoft announced the winner of the secret-ballot election as diplomats from the U.N.'s 193 member states burst into applause.
Source: ABC News
