CARACAS, Venezuela, CMC – President Nicolas Maduro Sunday cast his vote in a controversial referendum that his government hopes will strengthen its century-old claim to the oil-rich Essequibo in neighboring Guyana.
“Today, we are voting as Venezuela in just one color, one feeling. Our vote is for Venezuela to be respected,” Maduro told reporters after he voted at a military base.
Earlier, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali had urged Venezuelans not to seek to divide the two countries over the centuries-old border dispute, saying he wanted to speak directly to the Venezuelan people.
“We are your neighbors, and we are taught to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Long after this controversy, we will live together as neighbors. You have to determine within yourselves whether you want to be part of a system that runs afoul of international law,” he said.
But even as he was making his appeal during the early hours of Sunday, Venezuelans began casting their votes a few hours later, and the authorities said that the results of the polls, which ends at 6.00 pm (local time), will be known on Monday.
“Essequibo is ours!” read posters plastered on walls lining the streets in the capital.
Political observers say the campaign to take ownership of Essequibo is part of Maduro’s attempt to boost his popularity ahead of next year’s election.
Venezuela has claimed the vast territory for decades — even as its 160,000 square kilometers (62,000 square miles) represent more than two-thirds of Guyana, and its population of 125,000 is one-fifth of Guyana’s total.
The people of Essequibo are not voting, and President Ali. At the same time, he wants to avoid getting involved in Venezuela’s internal politics. He is urging Caracas to obey the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that last Friday urged both countries to “refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more challenging to resolve.
“The court emphasizes that the question of the validity of the 1899 Award and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between Guyana and Venezuela are matters for the court to decide at the merits stage,” it said.
“I want to advise Venezuela that this is an opportunity for them to show maturity, an opportunity for them to show responsibility…and in allowing the rule of law to work and to determine the outcome of this controversy,” Ali said in his broadcast.
President Ali returned early from the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) held in Dubai. He said he met and held talks with several world leaders, briefing them on the current situation with Venezuela.
He thanked those who have sacrificed their full support of Guyana and the judicial process. He urged the quieter ones to speak up against Venezuela’s continued aggression against Guyana.
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