Guatemala won 109 votes to 76 for Venezuela, but 124 were needed to win the seat, General Assembly President Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa announced. There were seven abstentions.
Khalifa said there would be another round of voting later on Monday.
Venezuela, whose President Hugo Chavez is a fierce critic of the United States, and Guatemala, strongly supported by Washington, have been in a pitched battle for the regional seat for months.
The assembly meanwhile elected Belgium, Italy, South Africa and Indonesia to the four other open non-permanent seats on the council. The five countries elected Monday will replace Denmark, Greece, Tanzania, Japan and Argentina, which will leave the council at the end of the year.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006