VOTERS in Caracas lined up on Sunday to cast their ballots in a nationwide referendum called by the government of President Nicolas Maduro to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich piece of neighboring Guyana, and the result of this was Venezuelans approving the referendum.
According to the National Electoral Council, more than 10.5-M ballots were cast in Venezuela, which has 20-M eligible voters.
“It is a consultative referendum, even though it is not binding for the court, it is binding for the country, which I believe is the most important thing,” Jose Luis Perez, Voter said.
“We must defend our homeland, our country, and we must do everything for this to be a triumph because if people do not vote, it is a failure, and it does not suit us,” Benita Finol, Voter said.
“This is a party to reclaim Essequibo, which is on the map of Venezuela,” Carlos Flores, Voter said.
“I came to vote for our country, Venezuela, for the fair historical claim that we are making for our Essequibo,” according to Inel Luiggi, Voter.
“What they want from us is to steal our land, and we have to defend it no matter what. If it is with our nails, we defend it,” Rigoberto Guzman, Voter said.
The region in question is located west of the Essequibo River and spans 159,500 square kilometers.
With 283,000 residents, it makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana, which is home to over 800,000 residents.
On November 14, officials of Guyana asked the UN International Court of Justice to prevent a referendum that they believed would allow Venezuela to annex Essequibo by force.
The International Court of Justice ruled that Venezuela could not change Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo.
However, the five-question vote was not expressly forbidden.
Guyana’s territorial conflict with Venezuela has been intensified after the 2015 discovery of oil resources holding at least 10 billion barrels of oil and Guyana’s concession to ExxonMobil for offshore oil production– the boundaries of which are undefined.
