A battle rages between Guatemala and Venezuela for a United Nations Security Council seat. Not a first class seat with veto power, but one of those temporary ones that last only 2 years. Venezuela’s president, Chavez, has a powerful opponent on the UN Security Council, the United States. Chavez has pretty much declared himself an enemy of America. And now he appears surprised that the US is trying to block Venezuela from becoming a UN Council member. Doh. Guatemala is leading Venezuela after 10 rounds of voting. Either country needs 125 votes to be accepted as member, with Guatemala only receiving 110 votes (15 short). With intense US lobbying they should be able to “find” those extra 15 votes somewhere, if they can’t a compromise will have to be made.
Venezuela earlier erased Guatemala’s 46-vote lead after three ballots, moving into a tie in the sixth round. An 11th round of voting will be held tomorrow. “The membership is divided, and it seems there is a group of countries that does not want either,” Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram said. “They can select a third party or split their term.”
Rivals that couldn’t get the needed two-thirds majority in the General Assembly agreed to split, one-year terms three times in the 1960s.
The longest vote took 155 ballots in 1979, when Cuba and Colombia were deadlocked until Mexico stepped in as a compromise candidate and was elected after the rest of the other new members took their seats in the Security Council in January.
For the U.S., the resolution adopted unanimously on Oct. 14 punishing North Korea for testing a nuclear bomb pointed up the risk in seeing the anti-American Chavez represented on the UN’s highest body. The U.S. and other countries value the strength of a 15 to 0 vote from the council in such matters.
From : Guatemala Leads Venezuela in Race for UN Council Seat
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