This Sunday, December 3, a referendum was held in Venezuela on the border dispute with Guyana over the Essequibo territory. According to several reports, the referendum, promoted by the dictatorial regime of Nicolás Maduro, lacked international legal validity and was marked by low participation. Despite this, the electoral body, controlled by the regime, assures that the vote was historic.
The voting day began at 6 in the morning (local time), had more than 20,000 eligible voters and consisted of five questions about Venezuelans' opinions regarding the Essequibo territory controversy. According to the preliminary results of the National Electoral Council (CNE), there was an "evident overwhelming victory" for Venezuela.
The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, stated that after a "historic participation" that exceeded 10 million votes, the majority voted "yes" to the plebiscite questions.
Presidente del CNE Elvis Amoroso:
"Una evidente y abrumadora victoria del SI, en este Referéndum Consultivo en defensa de la Guayana Esequiba".
La participaron fue de más de 10 millones de venezolanos y venezolanas.#VenezuelaDiceSí pic.twitter.com/YciV4HxBcE— Comisión Defensa del Esequibo (@EsequiboOficial) December 4, 2023
However, judging by the images and photographs of social media users, it is hardly credible that so many Venezuelans went out to vote.
Amoroso habló de más de 10 millones de votos. Lamentablemente la presentación de resultados del CNE fue tan pobre que Amoroso no precisó si estaba hablando de votantes únicos o del total de votos que emitieron los que participaron (no ayuda que no ofrezca datos de abstención)
— Eugenio G. Martínez (@puzkas) December 4, 2023
A failure for the regime
Through social media, several users shared images demonstrating the low participation in the referendum called by the dictator of Venezuela.
"Crowded with loneliness," wrote an X user who recorded one of the voting centers.
VENEZUELA/ESEQUIBO - Referendo consultivo. Así luce el liceo Avalos en el Valle donde estudió Nicolás MADURO… Abarrotado de soledad! “LA SOBERANÍA SE EJERCE, NO SE CONSULTA”. pic.twitter.com/DXmxL0fHDM
— Liliana Franco (@lilianaf523) December 3, 2023
Former deputy Juan Pablo Guanipa also shared other images of the low participation and highlighted that if this referendum demonstrates anything, it is that the "regime does not summon anyone in Venezuela."
Hoy parece que la inflación va a llegar al 10.000%.
Este régimen no convoca a nadie en Venezuela.
A partir de mañana sigamos adelante, hagamos todo lo necesario para sacar a @NicolasMaduro y recuperemos nuestro Esequibo.
¡Viva Venezuela Libre! pic.twitter.com/aVx1DCL7GV
— Juan Pablo Guanipa (@JuanPGuanipa) December 3, 2023
The opposition political leader Leopoldo López said something similar on social media: "Today's message is clear: Essequibo's defense first involves recovering Venezuela. Down with the dictatorship," he shared along with a hashtag that suggests that the day was a failure for the regime.
#FRACASO El mensaje de hoy es claro: La defensa del Esequibo pasa primero por recuperar Venezuela.
Abajo la dictadura!!! pic.twitter.com/wTTbQqx5nY
— Leopoldo López (@leopoldolopez) December 3, 2023
The referendum questions
The questions asked for the referendum proposed by Maduro were the following:
1. Do you agree to reject by all means, in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899, which seeks to deprive us of our Guyana Essequiba?
2. Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guyana Essequiba?
3. Do you agree with Venezuela's historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guyana Essequiba?
4. Do you agree to oppose, by all means consistent with the law, Guyana's offer to unilaterally dispose of a pending sea to be delimited, illegally and in violation of international law?
5. Do you agree with the creation of the Guyana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory that includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and a Venezuelan identity card? , in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and international law, consequently incorporating said state into the map of Venezuelan territory?
10:18pm Elvis Amoroso anuncia resultados porcentuales del voto por el Sí y No en cada pregunta, pero aún.
no se refiere a la participación total en el evento
1ra pregunta: Si 97,83% No 2,17%
2da pregunta: Sí 97, 11 % No 1,8 %
3ra pregunta: Sí 95,40 % No 4,10 %
4ta pregunta:…— Eugenio G. Martínez (@puzkas) December 4, 2023
The tension between Guyana and Venezuela
Essequibo, a territory larger than Portugal, has been in dispute between Guyana and Venezuela for more than a century. For several decades, the conflict was shelved since the government of the late Hugo Chávez renounced the dispute in exchange for the votes of the Caribbean countries in international forums. However, Nicolás Maduro, who is seeking re-election in 2024, has not only reignited the conflict but has intensified it after the discovery of oil deposits in the disputed area.
When the American energy giant ExxonMobil discovered oil reserves comparable to those in Kuwait in 2015, Maduro began to apply pressure to the point where some experts feared the dispute could escalate into a military conflict.
"The longstanding row over the border between Guyana and Venezuela has risen to a level of unprecedented tension in the relations between our countries," Guyana's Foreign Minister, Robert Persaud, recently expressed in Americas Quarterly.
The ICJ
On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the Venezuelan regime to refrain from taking measures that would aggravate the dispute situation. However, it did not expressly prohibit the referendum from taking place, and Nicolás Maduro decided to go ahead with it. But now the question arises of what the Venezuelan regime will do after the results of the vote are obtained.
