President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, gestures as he speaks after the National Electoral Council published the results of the consultative referendum on Venezuelan sovereignty over the Essequibo, in Caracas, on December 3, 2023. Venezuelan electoral authorities on December 3 claimed that 95 percent of voters in a nonbinding referendum approved of the nation’s territorial claim on a huge chunk of neighboring oil-rich Guyana.
It is “an evident and overwhelming victory for the ‘Yes’ in this consultative referendum,” said the president of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso. (Photo by Pedro Rances Mattey / AFP) (Photo by PEDRO RANCES MATTEY/AFP via Getty Images)
Pedro Rances Mattey | Afp | Getty Images
Venezuelans on Sunday voted to claim sovereignty over a large swathe of their oil-rich neighbor Guyana, marking the latest escalation in a long-standing territorial dispute between the countries.
Voters were asked if they supported the establishment of a new state in the contested area, known as the Essequibo. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council counted more than 10.5 million votes, the country’s local media stated. The number of voters were not specified, however, and the Associated Press reported that few voters could be seen at polling sites throughout the voting period.
The 61,600 square-mile Essequibo region makes up two-thirds of Guyana, and holds enormous oil reserves off its coast.
Friction between both countries has flared since 2015 following oil exploration operations by companies like ExxonMobil. Venezuela believes that Guyana has no right to grant oil concessions in the maritime areas off the disputed territory. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is also facing international pressure to facilitate free and fair elections in 2024.
The dispute over Essequibo is more than a century old. In 1899, an international arbitral tribunal awarded the territory to Britain, when Guyana was still under its colonial…
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