Guatemala ahead of Venezuela for UN Council seat

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (Reuters) Venezuela lagged behind Guatemala today in the first round of voting for an open Latin American seat in the UN Security Council.

Guatemala received 109 votes in the UN General Assembly compared to 76 for Venezuela, which had campaigned hard for the seat while the United States supported Guatemala.

But Guatemala did not get the required two-thirds majority in the 192-nation body, which means subsequent ballots are being held.

Seven countries, including Chile, abstained.

In other regions, South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium received the necessary votes to win two-year seats in the 15-nation Security Council beginning on January 1.

The Security Council has 15 seats, five permanent members with veto power -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- and 10 nations serving for two-year terms, five of them elected each year.

Venezuela and Guatemala are vying for the Latin American seat being vacated by Argentina while Peru stays on the Security Council until the end of 2007 along with Congo Republic, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia.

There are no veto rights in the General Assembly where each nation has one vote.

REUTERS SAM VV2250