Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir was elected President of the forthcoming session of the UN General Assembly in a vote held on Wednesday, the UN website reported.

Bozkir will preside over the 75th UN General Assembly, which opens in September. World leaders will not be coming to New York for the annual gathering for the first time in the 75-year history of the United Nations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the session to be held online.

The UN General Assembly presidency rotates annually between the five geographic groups. In 2020-2021, the president was to be elected from the Western European and Others Group, which also includes Turkey. Bozkir was the sole candidate for the post.

His candidacy was initially sent to member states for unanimous approval by silence procedure, but several countries, including Armenia, Greece, Cyprus and the UAE, objected it, requesting a secret vote.