Panama wins new UN council seat

Panama will succeed Argentina on the council

Panama has been elected as a non-permanent of the United Security Council - ending weeks of deadlock.

Its candidacy received 164 votes in the 192-member UN General Assembly. It takes the two-year seat on 1 January.

The expected endorsement came after 47 rounds of voting failed to produce a winner between US-backed Guatemala and its Latin American opponent, Venezuela.

The US had opposed Venezuela's candidacy because of its strained relations with President Hugo Chavez.

Panama will now succeed Argentina on the 15-member Security Council.

Guatemala gathered more support in nearly all the previous rounds, but neither side was able to achieve the two-thirds majority needed.

Five permanent members Ten elected to serve two-year terms Each year five elected members change, within regional blocs Arab state always represented in Africa or Asia bloc UN image 'hindered' by row

Diplomats said that Mr Chavez's now infamous speech to the UN General Assembly in September, during which he compared US President George W Bush to the devil, had damaged his country's standing.

Five of the 15 UN Security Council seats are held permanently by China, the US, Russia, the UK and France.

The others are held by regional blocs from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

Other regional seats, which are rotated every two years, went to Indonesia, South Africa, Italy and Belgium in the first round of voting last month.