© Matias DelaceoixPresident Nicolás Maduro speaks to pro-government supporters after a referendum regarding Venezuela's claim to the Essequibo region controlled by Guyana.
The government of President Nicolás Maduro put forward a referendum to claim sovereignty over the oil- and mineral-rich area of neighboring Guyana it argues was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago. It remains unclear how Maduro will enforce the results of the vote.
Guyana considers the referendum a step toward annexation, and the vote has its residents on edge.
The National Electoral Council claimed to have counted more than 10.5 million votes even though few voters could be seen at polling sites throughout the voting period for the five-question referendum. The council, however, did not explain whether the number of votes was equivalent to each voter or if it was the sum of each individual answer.
Venezuelan voters were asked whether they support establishing a state in the Essequibo territory, granting citizenship to current and future area residents and rejecting the jurisdiction of the United Nations' top court in settling the disagreement between the South American countries.
Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, maintains that an initial accord by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States - decided in 1899 when Guyana was still a British colony - establishing Essequibo's borders with Venezuela remains in effect.
Comment: Slick move by Maduro or ulterior motives at play by guess whom? Message: "We are (still) the boss of you."