"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 and 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.
Venezuela has served four times on the Security Council. Guatemala, emerging from years of brutal US-backed dictatorship, has never had a seat but is a leading contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping missions.
In recent months, Chavez has collected pledges of support as he visited about a dozen countries from eastern Europe to Africa. Venezuela's opposition leaders have accused Chavez of squandering millions of dollars on his Security Council campaign while neglecting domestic problems such as rampant crime and acute poverty.
The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are filled by the regional groups for two-year stretches.
The other five seats are occupied by the veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.
RSS