The vote on the annexation of the province of Essequibo, a territory rich in oil and minerals that belongs to Guyana, ended uneventfully, after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) extended the deadline until 8pm local time (9pm Brasília) this Sunday (3).
“We want to inform the people of Venezuela that even after 6 pm citizens are still in line [de votação] and the CNE unanimously decided to extend the electoral process for another two hours”, said the head of the body, Elvis Amoroso.
Voting began at 6am and would continue until 6pm local time. The CNE’s claim was contested by the press and opposition parties, who accused Venezuelans of low adherence to the consultation. The referendum is “consultative” and there is no minimum number of votes for its approval.
The government hopes, with approval, to define annexation strategies for the province, which corresponds to 70% of Guyana’s territory. Around 20.7 million Venezuelans were called to vote.
The results should be released this Monday (4).
Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, campaigned on local television to encourage voting. “The first effect that Venezuela’s powerful and united voice should have is to sit down with the president of Guyana and return to the Geneva agreement,” Maduro said when voting.
The Geneva agreement formed by Venezuela and the United Kingdom in 1966 recognized the country’s claim and determined the resolution of the matter within four years, which never happened. Disputes have been intensifying since 2015, with the discovery of oil in the region. Thanks to oil, Guyana is the fastest growing South American country in recent years.
Earlier, President Lula said, in Dubai, that he hopes that common sense will prevail in the dispute between the two countries. “What South America doesn’t need is confusion,” said Lula.
See the referendum questions
- Do you reject the current border?
- Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement?
- Do you agree with Venezuela’s position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (see more on this issue below)?
- Do you disagree with Guyana using a maritime region over which there are no established boundaries?
- Do you agree with the creation of the Guiana Essequiba state and the creation of a care plan for the population of that territory that includes the granting of Venezuelan citizenship, incorporating this state into the map of Venezuelan territory?
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