Showdown For UN Seat

The battle between Venezuela and Guatemala for the fifth available non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council will continue in New York today, Tuesday. After 10 rounds of voting Monday there was still no clear winner to replace the seat’s current occupant, Argentina, when it steps down on December 31. Although Guatemala managed to beat Venezuela in each round of voting, it failed to secure a two-thirds’ majority needed to win the seat. The battle between the two Latin American nations has been billed by many as a battle against the will of the US, which has been openly backing Guatemala’s bid. Behind the scenes, negotiations are taking place to propose an acceptable compromise candidate from the region – most likely either Uruguay or Dominican Republic. The 10 non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council have a two-year tenure (two seats are allocated for Latin America and the Caribbean region). Only five of the 10 are up for renewal at the end of this year. The permanent members of the Council, who enjoy the power of veto, include the US, Russia, the UK, France and China.