The United Nations General Assembly decided to put off for five
days voting on the final non-permanent seat on the Security Council
after six more polls on Wednesday failed to choose between
Guatemala and Venezuela, the assembly president announced.
According to current Assembly President Haya Rashed Al Khalifa,
from now on the General Assembly will vote only twice a week, with
next votes set on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Including the six rounds today, the Assembly has now voted 41
times since Oct. 16 to decide on the non-permanent seat for a
two-year term starting from Jan. 1, 2007, for the Latin American
and Caribbean group to replace Argentina.
In the 41st round, when 123 votes would have been enough to
secure victory, Guatemala obtained 100 votes and Venezuela received
82, with the Dominican Republic and Chile grabbing one
respectively.
There were six abstentions. Guatemala has led in every round so
far, with the exception of the sixth round on the first day of
voting, when the two countries were tied.
Balloting will continue until a state from the region achieves
the required majority. There is no limit to the number of rounds of
voting and in 1979-80 there were a record 155 ballots before Mexico
was chosen from the Latin American and Caribbean Group to serve a
two-year term.
Earlier, there were reports that Venezuela proposed Bolivia as
an alternative candidate for the seat, but Latin American counties
have not agreed on a third candidate to break the deadlock.
According to diplomats close to the regional group, the foreign
ministers of Guatemala and Venezuela will meet on Thursday to try
to find a way out of the impasse.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2006)
