During a press conference held after casting his vote, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that the referendum is an extraordinary moment in the country's electoral history because all the factors come together in a single force: the defense of the Venezuelan rights on the Essequibo territory.
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“As Venezuelans, today we are not voting as the opposition or the ruling party. We are not voting as center, left or right. We are not voting red, blue, white or green. Today we are voting as Venezuela, with one color, one flag and one feeling,” he said.
Maduro highlighted that the consultative referendum on the Guayana Essequiba has prompted “an awakening of the national spirit of which the Liberator Simon Bolivar spoke about.”
Maduro highlighted that the consultative referendum allows Venezuela to take the initiative in the process of asserting its rights through “a powerful consensus in a feeling of defense of what is ours and a rejection of the dispossession carried out by the British Empire.”
He also stressed that citizen participation in this democratic process strengthens the nation in the face of recent aggressions by the government of Guyana and the empires.
“I am confident and optimistic. Starting today we will emerge stronger as a country to speak hard, clearly and powerfully,” he noted, highlighting that the world will see the power of Venezuelan men and women when exercising their right to vote.
Finally, the Bolivarian leader sent a message of unity directed towards citizens who have not yet decided whether they will participate in the referendum.
“Let's put aside pettiness, sectarianism and partisanship. It is Venezuela time. It is Venezuela day. It is the day of the people's free expression."