Venezuela blamed fierce US lobbying for its failure to obtain a seat on the UN Security Council after 10 rounds of voting that left US-backed Guatemala well ahead as the nail-biting battle resumed yesterday.

Guatemala led in nine of the 10 ballots on Monday, but could not get the two-thirds majority necessary to win. Still, the results were a setback for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who had lobbied hard in capitals around the world.

Neither Venezuela nor Guatemala appeared willing to drop out of the election, which resumed yesterday with another round of balloting. Venezuela's UN Ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas complained the United States pressed countries worldwide to prevent Venezuela from winning the two-year term on the 15-nation council.

"We are fighting against the first power of the world, the owners of the universe," Arias Cardenas said. We're happy, we're strong and we will continue."

Venezuelan diplomat Roy Chaderton, who played a key role in his country's campaign for the seat, said the results were only a minor setback in a prolonged struggle against US efforts to dominate international affairs.

"This battle will prepare us for another battle within the international community," Chaderton told Venezuelan state television on Sunday, accusing the United States of "using all its power" to undermine Venezuela's chances.

"There were a lot of telephone calls made from Washington... to coerce and scare countries that had decided to vote for Venezuela," Chaderton said.

Even Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal had earlier expressed discomfort about the highly public American campaign against Venezuela and in support of Guatemala.

The voting pattern fluctuated through the day, with Guatemala leading until the sixth round when they tied at 93 each. On the last vote, Guatemala led again, with 110 to Venezuela's 77. That was still short of the 125 needed to win.

Diplomats said it was far too early to think of a compromise candidate to come forward to fill the seat that Argentina will vacate at the end of the year. Peru holds the other seat reserved for Latin America until December 31, 2007.

The record number of ballots for a Security Council seat occurred in 1979, when the General Assembly held 154 unsuccessful votes to choose between Cuba and Colombia. Mexico was then put forward and won in the 155th round.

Latin American states could agree to put forward a new candidate but only if the other two agree to step down. Rosenthal acknowledged that the deadlock could not last forever.

"If this goes on for several days and we can see that there's no movement in either of the candidates being able to get two-thirds of the vote, we probably would have to think of a third consensus candidate for the region," Rosenthal said. "But we think the time hasn't come for that yet."

Possible other candidates include Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico or Chile, though Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley has said his nation is not seeking a spot on the council. That does not rule out Chile being put forward by someone else.

The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are filled by the regional groups for two-year stretches. The other five are occupied by the veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

China Daily