Guatemala leads in race for Security Council seat

It was done by secret ballot but at the United Nations today voting continued for the hotly contested vacant seats in that organization’s Security Council. According to press reports from New York, Venezuela’s bid for the Latin American seat may be fading fast after the seventh round of balloting left the South American country seven votes behind the now front runner Guatemala, in an eighty-nine to ninety-six spilt. Other contenders include Cuba and Mexico but they only received one vote each. Guatemala or Venezuela must reach a two third majority in the one hundred and ninety-two nations General Assembly to claim rights to the seat. Both countries have reportedly refused to back down, a situation that might open the door for a new compromise candidate to end the stalemate. Belize has put its support behind Venezuela, citing Guatemala’s unfounded claim to our territory. However, it is believed that Venezuela lost ground in September after its President Hugo Chavez, called United States President George Bush “the devil”. The U.S.’s strong support of Guatemala’s bid has been blatantly obvious, a fact that may also have cost Guatemala votes. In June, CARICOM leaders decided to back the controversial Chavez, collectively stating that “the claim that Guatemala continues to make on Belize is unacceptable”.