UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17: A pitched battle between Guatemala and Venezuela for one of Latin America’s UN Security Council seats went into a second day on Monday after delegates failed to end a deadlock.
Some diplomats here predict that the fight for the votes could last for several weeks if no compromise is reached among the Latin American countries.
United Nations rules permit marathon ballots, and a battle between Cuba and Colombia in 1979 continued for two months and 155 rounds until the election of a third candidate, Mexico.
So far 10 rounds of voting neither of the leading nations, Guatemala and Venezuela, emerged as the victor in the election for the temporary seat.
The battle between Guatemala and Venezuela has caught the attention of the diplomatic community here because Venezuela ‘s President Hugo Chavez’s challenge to the Bush administration calling it a battle between David and Goliath.
Diplomats here observed that the voting against Venezuela is driven by the European nations block who abhorred Mr Chavez’s attack on US President Bush at last month’s general debate wherein he likened Mr Bush to a “devil”. President Hugo Chavez on Monday accused Washington of waging “a dirty war” to keep his country from winning a seat on the UN Security Council.
“Go forth with the bayonet! Venezuela is going the Security Council,” said Chavez, encouraging Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Francisco Arias Cardenas, on the eve of the vote.
The balloting, which at one point had the countries tied with 93 votes each, resumed on Tuesday and could last days, until one prevails or the Latin American group decided to bring forth a compromise candidate.
Francisco Arias Cárdenas, Venezuela’s ambassador, said his country was not battling Guatemala, which he called “a brother country”, but “fighting against the owners of the universe”.
A Venezuelan victory, Cardenas said, would give small and impoverished nations “an independent voice needed on the Security Council to fight against the power of money”.
Diplomats here observed a Security Council seat would also give Mr Chavez a global platform to vent his grievances against Washington, a reason why the United States has conducted its own vigorous lobbying against the idea.
