Diego Cordovez (C), Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Nations, Gert Rosenthal (L), Foreign Minister of Guatemala, and Nicolas Maduro, Foreign Minister of Venezuela, speak to reporters at the office of the Ecuadorean Mission to U.N. after they agreed to recommend Panama for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, Nov. 1, 2006 (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Guatemala and Venezuela agreed to support Panama as a consensus candidate for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council, Ecuador's UN Ambassador Diego Cordovez announced Wednesday evening.

    They agreed to give up their own bid for the seat and supported Panama as a compromise candidate for the 35-member Latin American and Caribbean group, said Cordovez, who hosted two rounds of talks between Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro.

    Cordovez said the two ministers will present the choice to a meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean group on Thursday for approval. After that, the UN General Assembly must vote.

    Guatemala and Venezuela were vying for the Latin American seat that Argentina will vacate on Dec. 31. Guatemala, backed by the United States, led Venezuela by about 25 votes in all but one of the 47 rounds of balloting that started on Oct. 16. But Guatemala fell short of a required two-third majority to secure the seat.

    Earlier on Wednesday, the assembly decided to suspend a new round of voting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and postponed the balloting to next Tuesday.

Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (R) speaks to reporters at the office of the Ecuadoran Mission to U.N. in New York, Nov. 1, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

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     Voting for vacant seat on UNSC postponed till next Tuesday

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday remained deadlocked after total 47 rounds of voting in the contest to fill a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the Latin American and Caribbean region.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The elections for the remaining vacant seat on UN Security Council has been postponed till next week so as to encourage the Latin nations to seek solution for the current impasse, the spokesperson for the UN General Assembly announced Wednesday.

    Upon the request of Guatemala and Venezuela, the General Assembly decided to suspend the voting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, the spokesperson said, adding that the voting would resume next Tuesday Morning.

    Foreign ministers of Guatemala and Venezuela, the two rival candidates in the contest for the seat being vacated by Argentina at the end of the year, met in New York Wednesday morning and were due to meet again later in the day to find a way out of the current impasse.

    Ecuador's UN Ambassador Diego Cordovez, who hosted the talks at his mission, said the two foreign ministers are convinced they had to decide on another candidate soon.

    The UN General Assembly on Tuesday remained deadlocked after total 47 rounds of voting in the contest to fill a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the Latin American and Caribbean region. 

UN members remain divided on final seat on Security Council

Diplomats from Guatemala speak as the United Nations General Assembly votes in New York, Oct. 31, 2006.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

     UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Tuesday remained deadlocked after total 47 rounds of voting in the contest to fill a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the Latin American and Caribbean region.

    On the fifth day of voting, the Assembly voted 6 rounds and reached total 47 times since Oct. 16 to choose a candidate to serve as the region's council member for a two-year term starting Jan. 1, 2007, and replacing Argentina.

    In the latest round, when 122 votes would have been enough to secure victory, Guatemala obtained 101 votes, Venezuela received 78, Barbados, Ecuador and Jamaica received one respectively. However, none of them got the necessary two-thirds majority. Full story>>

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