Venezuela and Guatemala were still deadlocked in their bid for
the final non-permanent seat in the Security Council as the UN
General Assembly continued voting on Tuesday.
Though US-backed Guatemala won all the 12 rounds on Tuesday, it
failed to get the required two-thirds majority. The General
Assembly has decided to take a day off from voting on Wednesday to
allow Lain American and Caribbean nations time to seek a
compromise, with the 23rd ballot scheduled for Thursday
morning.
Diplomats here predicted that neither would be able to bridge
the gap, noting that the voting smacks of a cold war scenario when
candidates, supported by the two superpowers at that time, bogged
down the voting for months before both sides withdrew to make way
for a compromise candidate.
Venezuela's UN ambassador Francisco Cardenas has complained that
the United States pressed other countries to prevent Venezuela from
winning its bid for a seat in the 15-nation Security Council.
"We are not competing with a brother country. We are competing
with the biggest power on the planet," he said, stressing that his
country would not withdraw from the race.
US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton denied pressuring anyone.
"We have made our position in a very low-key way. It is motivated
by our concern for Venezuela's behavior," he said.
Observers here noted, however, that opposition from the United
States constituted a major obstacle to Venezuela's bid. Ambassador
Cardenas was quoted as saying that a Venezuelan victory would give
small and impoverished nations "an independent voice needed on the
Security Council to fight against the power of money."
Analysts said that Washington feared that Venezuela, once
elected to the Council, would pose a serious challenge to its
domination in the UN, and shatter the US desired consensus in
handling many international issues.
In addition, they noted that with the world's most populous
Muslim country Indonesia and South Africa, a major player in the
Group of 77, already on the Council, Washington would not like to
see Venezuela's seat add further to the uncertainty in its dealing
with the Council.
Failure among the Latin American and Caribbean nations to reach
compromise has also contributed to the deadlock over voting. Lain
American states could agree to put forward a new candidate, but
only if the existing two agree to step down. But the two countries,
each with its own supporters within the group, have so far refused
to withdraw from the race.
?
Observers here generally believe that a breakthrough in the current
stalemate seems unlikely in the short run unless the situation
takes a dramatic turn. It is noteworthy, however, that the United
States will intensify its lobbying efforts in the coming days.
During Monday's voting, Venezuela picked up momentum to tie with
its rival Guatemala with 93 votes, but it soon dropped to 76. Such
dramatic fluctuation indicated the swing of perhaps a whole
regional group as a result of strong lobbying efforts, observers
noted.
The non-permanent members were elected according to an agreed
geographic allocation, which awards two seats to African and Asian
countries, two to Western European and other states, and one to
Latin America and the Caribbean during this year's round of
elections.
Belgium and Italy were the only contenders in the Western
European and Other States category, and they received 180 and 186
votes respectively. South Africa, the only candidate in the African
group, was elected after picking up 186 votes. In Asia, where there
were two contenders, Indonesia received 158 votes and Nepal
received 28.
The Council's five other non-permanent members, whose terms end
on Dec. 31, 2007, are Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2006)
