Post #1400

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has carried out a “successful” dry-run to prepare for the December 3 referendum intended to measure popular support over the country’s centuries-long claim over the Essequibo Strip. On November 19, Venezuelans participated in an electoral simulation drill with 800 voting centers opened nationwide, which registered long queues throughout the day. The ballot had five questions regarding the country’s territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana over the 160,000 square kilometer resource-rich Essequibo region. Venezuela and Guyana’s dispute over the Essequibo Strip dates back to colonial times and remained dormant for years until Texas-based ExxonMobil found significant oil reserves in the region in 2015. Since then, the Guyana government, presently led by President Irfaan Ali, has expanded a bidding process for oil exploration in Essequibo’s undelimited territorial waters, which Caracas argues violates the unresolved legal battle. https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-maduro-warns-of-exxonmobil-interference-ahead-of-historical-essequibo-strip-vote/