Round five (and six and seven and....) - Venezuela vs. Bolton at the UN
Earlier today, the stalemate preventing the election of Guatemala or Venezuela to a two-year, non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council continued. But in the last round of voting, the Venezuelans had a miniature uptick in votes.
Now, the fifth round of voting is underway, and additional candidates could emerge to offer a compromise between Venezuela and Guatemala. But will the 70 or so states that have cast their vote in favor of Hugo Chavez retain their zeal for seeing his government on the Council as a counterweight to President George W. Bush and his Ambassador John Bolton? Or is Guatemala's lead insurmountable?
Watch this space for updates. Or, tune into the UN's webcast and see for yourself.
Round Five Update: Guatemala's star is beginning to fall. In the Fifth Round, Mexico received one vote. Guatemala received 103. Venezuela received 83. Five states abstained. In an exercise of faith-based journalism, I am happy we can count on NewsMax to say after round five of votes that "More than five rounds of voting have taken place."
Round Six Update: In a stunning turn-around, Venezuela and Guatemala are tied at 93 votes a piece, and Mexico is still voting for itself, while 5 Member States continued to abstain.
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