Venezuela, Guatemala at impasse in U.N. Council race

[oberliner]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-10-17T164302Z_01_N17223533_RTRUKOC_0_US-UN-COUNCIL-VOTE.xml&WTmodLoc=IntNewsHome_C2_worldNews-6

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was stymied on Tuesday by U.S.-backed Guatemala in his quest to win a seat on the U.N. Security Council as pressure mounted for a compromise candidate.

Guatemala had 108 votes and Venezuela had 76 in a 14th round of secret balloting on Tuesday with seven nations abstaining and one ballot deemed invalid. The vote was similar to most of the previous rounds held on Monday and Tuesday.

The balloting continues until a nation reaches the required two-thirds vote in 192-nation General Assembly or a compromise candidate emerges.
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Latin American nations were trying to convene a meeting later in the day in an effort to break the impasse but Venezuela was resisting a withdrawal of its nomination, diplomats said.