Venezuela referendum backs claim on Essequibo region against Guyana

Venezuelan electoral authorities on Sunday claimed that 95 percent of voters in a nonbinding referendum approved of the nation's territorial claim on a huge chunk of neighbouring oil-rich Guyana.

President Nicolas Maduro hailed "an overwhelming victory for the 'Yes' throughout Venezuela."

About 10.5 million votes were cast by Venezuela's 20.7 million eligible voters, said the president of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso.

The referendum raised fears in Guyana, and around the region, about Venezuela's ultimate intentions over the contested territory.

Maduro, who will seek reelection next year amid a punishing economic crisis, hopes the outcome of the referendum will strengthen his nation's century-old claim to the oil-rich Essequibo territory governed by Guyana.

"Today is a day of ratification, of national sovereignty, and the people have done it with flying colours," said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino in an evening address on state television.

In Guyana, thousands of people, some of them wearing T-shirts reading "Essequibo belongs to Guyana," formed human chains in solidarity with their government, and their president offered assurances that the country's borders were secure.

The Maduro government has said it is not seeking justification to invade or annex the huge territory, as some fear in Guyana, an English-speaking former British colony.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, little will change in the short term: The people of Essequibo are not voting, and the referendum is non-binding.

'Nothing to fear'

Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said Sunday that his government was working to protect the country's borders and keep people safe.

"I want to assure Guyanese that there is nothing to fear," Ali said in an address carried on Facebook.

Venezuela has claimed the huge territory of Essequibo for decades — even though 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.

Caracas contends that the Essequibo River to the region's east is the natural border between the two countries, as declared in 1777 under Spanish rule, and that Britain wrongly appropriated Venezuelan lands in the 19th century.

Guyana, however, asserts the border was set in the British colonial era and was confirmed in 1899 by a court of arbitration. It says the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's top judicial body, has validated this finding.

Guyana had asked the ICJ to block the referendum. But while the court on Friday urged Caracas to take no action that might affect the disputed territory, it did not mention the measure.