Ban Ki-moon

Speaking at a press conference ahead of a summit of the 15-member Caribbean Community, Ban said his chief of staff will meet with Venezuela's foreign minister and might dispatch a mission to both countries if there is interest. Guyana's government said last month that it planned to formally ask the U.N. to intervene.

Venezuela has long-claimed about two-thirds of Guyana and has become more insistent about a large marine area where Exxon Mobil Corp. says it made a significant oil discovery.

Albert Shingiro told a Security Council meeting that another postponement would plunge the government into a constitutional vacuum.

'The government simply cannot accept to tumble head first into an institutional vacuum, into a chasm," he said. "We're going to move forward to elections on Monday."

Agathon Rwasa, a leading opposition candidate, said earlier Friday that elections should be postponed until conditions to make the polls free and fair are met.