New War: In a referendum in Venezuela, they voted for the accession of part of the neighboring Guyana

Venezuelas were offered to answer five questions. Among other things, the consent to the creation of a new state of Guyana-Essekibo and the granting of citizenship to residents of a neighboring country. On December 3, a referendum was held in Venezuela on the annexation of the Esekibo region to the neighboring independent state of Guiana, which is rich in oil deposits. About it writes The Associated Press.

Citizens were invited to answer five questions, among other things, the consent with the creation of a new state of Guiana-Essekibo and granting citizenship to residents of a neighboring country. "It was the success of our country, our democracy," - commented President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, the results of the referendum to his supporters in Karakas, emphasizing the "important level of participation" of citizens.

On December 1, by the UN International Court of Justice, Venezuela's authorities were banned from taking any actions that violate the territorial integrity of the Guyana. The meeting on the territorial dispute between the two countries will take place later, but the referendum did not ban the court.

The Chairman of the National Election Council of Venezuela Elvis Amoros said that more than 95% of citizens answered in the affirmatively five proposed referendum questions, in total, this is about 10. 5 million votes. At the same time, according to preliminary results, the turnout was extremely low. According to The New York Times, relatively few voters came, although civil servants were forced.

After the referendum, Maduro noted that the Venezuelan people spoke "loud and clear", and President Guyana Irfaan Ali said that the Essecibo belongs to the Guyans. According to him, the local government is working to ensure that the country's border remains intact. The dispute on the Esekibo region is ancient history.

Venezuela's representatives claim that this territory has been within the time of Spanish conquistadors and protest the decision of the International Arbitration Tribunal from 1899, which referred to Essecibo to the then British Guiana, which became independent in 1966. The director of the Catholic University Research Center Andres Bello in the Venezuelan capital Karakasi Beninho Alaccon examines the low turnout in the referendum as a "huge failure" of the Maduro Government.