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Deadlock in Latin America UN race
Voting in the fierce battle for one of Latin America's UN Security Council seats will go into a second day after delegates failed to end a deadlock.
After 10 rounds of voting neither of the leading nations, Guatemala and Venezuela, emerged as the victor in the election for the temporary seat.
Guatemala has forged ahead but is still short of the 124 votes needed to win.
Guatemala is backed by the US and Western diplomats over Venezuela - a strong critic of Washington.
Lobbying
The BBC's UN correspondent, Laura Trevelyan, says diplomats will now try to see whether enough of Venezuela's votes can be transferred to Guatemala for victory or whether a compromise candidate can come through with enough votes to win.
Costa Rica, Panama and Uruguay could emerge in the compromise.
The race has been the most dramatic at the Security Council since Cuba ran against Colombia in 1979, at the height of the Cold War, our correspondent says.
Guatemala was ahead in the early rounds of Monday's voting. Venezuela then drew level but in the final rounds it slipped back.
Round 10 ended with 77 votes for Venezuela to 110 for Guatemala, leaving Guatemala short of the two-thirds majority required. Further voting is set for Tuesday.
The US has warned that the work of the Security Council will become impossible if Venezuela wins and denounces President George W Bush at every turn.
Venezuela says every vote cast for it is a vote of conscience for the developing world.
Venezuela's UN ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas blamed its performance in the vote on lobbying by the US.
"We're not competing with our brother country [Guatemala]," he said. "We are competing with the most powerful country on the planet."
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6053984.stm
Guatemala has forged ahead but is still short of the 124 votes needed to win.
Guatemala is backed by the US and Western diplomats over Venezuela - a strong critic of Washington.
Lobbying
The BBC's UN correspondent, Laura Trevelyan, says diplomats will now try to see whether enough of Venezuela's votes can be transferred to Guatemala for victory or whether a compromise candidate can come through with enough votes to win.
Costa Rica, Panama and Uruguay could emerge in the compromise.
The race has been the most dramatic at the Security Council since Cuba ran against Colombia in 1979, at the height of the Cold War, our correspondent says.
Guatemala was ahead in the early rounds of Monday's voting. Venezuela then drew level but in the final rounds it slipped back.
Round 10 ended with 77 votes for Venezuela to 110 for Guatemala, leaving Guatemala short of the two-thirds majority required. Further voting is set for Tuesday.
The US has warned that the work of the Security Council will become impossible if Venezuela wins and denounces President George W Bush at every turn.
Venezuela says every vote cast for it is a vote of conscience for the developing world.
Venezuela's UN ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas blamed its performance in the vote on lobbying by the US.
"We're not competing with our brother country [Guatemala]," he said. "We are competing with the most powerful country on the planet."
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6053984.stm
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After breaking even with Guatemala in the sixth round, the tenth round produced only 77 votes for Venezuela compared to 110 for Guatemala. Five nations abstained.
Neither country has reached the two-thirds majority needed for victory in the 192-nation UN General Assembly.
The vote has become a battle for influence between the US and Venezuela, which under US foe Hugo Chavez has tried to form an alliance in Asia, Africa and the Middle East to challenge Washington's interests.
Failure to get onto the UN Security Council would represent a set-back for Chavez's ambitions for a bigger international profile.
Chavez ruffled many diplomatic feathers when, in a September UN speech, he called George Bush the "devil" and said the American leader had left the smell of sulfur hanging in the chamber.
Votes of conscience
Further rounds of balloting are necessary during which a new compromise candidate could emerge. The highest number of ballots occurred in 1979 with 155 rounds in a contest between Colombia and Cuba, with Mexico then emerging as the compromise candidate.
Francisco Javier Arias Cardenas, Venezuela's UN ambassador, said the US had tried to turn the vote into a contest between his government and Washington, and said votes cast for his government had been "votes of conscience" in favour of the developing world.
"We are not competing with a brother country. We are competing with the biggest power on the planet," he told reporters, adding that Venezuela would not withdraw from the race.
The Security Council has 15 seats, five permanent members with veto power - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - and 10 nations serving for two-year terms, five of them elected each year.
"Devil"
In other regions, South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium received the necessary votes to win two-year seats in the council, beginning on January 1. They replace Tanzania, Japan, Denmark and Greece. It was first time ever South Africa will have a seat on the council.
Venezuela and Guatemala are vying for the Latin American seat being vacated by Argentina while Peru stays on the Security Council until the end of 2007 along with the Congo Republic, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia.
Christian Wenaweser, Lichtenstein's UN ambassador, told reporters: "It's going to be very hard to turn that [vote] around."
More
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FB9A3EB6-7A91-4136-829D-D2AE29BC2058.htm
Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela who has based his political appeal partly on waging a personal vendetta against the "imperialist" United States, appeared last night to have been thwarted in his efforts to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
After 10 inconclusive rounds of secret voting at the General Assembly to decide which Latin American country should take up one of five non-permanent seats open in January, neither Venezuela nor its rival Guatemala had reached the two-thirds majority required. Further rounds will be held today.
Support for both countries fluctuated significantly between rounds, creating an unusual sense of drama in the chamber. Guatemala ended the day with a clear edge but if it fails to reach the two-thirds mark this morning, Latin American states may have to offer an alternative candidate, possibly Costa Rica.
A failed Venezuela bid would be a setback for Mr Chavez who spent months traveling the world lobbying for support often lavishing countries with aid.
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article1879407.ece
Voting has ended for a second day at the United Nations. After 22 rounds, Guatemala continues to lead but is still short of a two-thirds majority.
Washington has been lobbying hard for Guatemala, describing Venezuela as too confrontational to merit a seat.
The deadlock has led to calls for a compromise Latin America candidate.
'Blackmail'
In the final round for Tuesday, Guatemala won 102 votes to Venezuela's 77, similar to many previous rounds but still short of decisive. A winner needs 124 votes.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6059990.stm