MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Panama named for UN seat by Venezuela, Guatemala

Venezuela and Guatemala agreed to abandon their competing bids to win a two-year seat on the UN Security Council, settling on Panama as a compromise candidate.

The race, which reached 47 rounds, had pitched supporters of Hugo Chavez, the populist Venezuelan president, against allies of the US, in an angry battle of competing visions for the future of the United Nations.

Guatemala held a consistent lead throughout the contest, but it never attained the two-thirds majority necessary for victory. Venezuela had been expected to win greater support, but nonetheless claimed success in staving off the US-backed candidate's ambitions.

Diego Cordovez, Ecuador's UN ambassador, yesterday said both countries had "agreed that Panama will be the country that will replace them as a candidate for the Security Council", paving the way for a quick resolution to the deadlock.

The 35-member Latin American and Caribbean group must still approve the choice, followed by a vote in the General Assembly, but the agreement is unlikely to face major opposition.

Venezuela had earlier backed Bolivia as the country to replace its bid, but that choice was equally unpalatable to the US. The choice of Panama, which is seen as closer to the US camp, came as something of a surprise, with many analysts expecting Dominican Republic instead.

Venezuela last week indicated it was ready to withdraw, but Guatemala had resisted a deal. Gert Rosenthal, its foreign minister, yesterday said his government had withdrawn reluctantly, even though it won 46 of the 47 rounds of voting.

Panama, assuming its candidacy is accepted, will join four other new members ? South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium ? on next year's council. Peru, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia will remain another year.

The five permanent members of the council are the US, UK, France, Britain and Russia. Some diplomats feared a Venezuelan victory would have significantly increased the difficulty of pushing through controversial resolutions in the council, such as current proposals for sanctions on Iran ? leading to endless speeches.

But the presence of South Africa and Indonesia is still likely to make discussions more difficult next year, and the US and Europe are hoping to resolve the Iran issue before the changeover.