Venezuela's National Election Council President Elvis Amoroso appeared on television tonight to announce the preliminary results of today's referendum on the fate of the nation's long-standing territorial claim over Essequibo. Addressing the public shortly after 10 PM, he cited preliminary numbers, based on 10.5 million votes counted, demonstrating an overwhelming level of unity within the Venezuelan electorate.
97.83% of referendum participants counted voted yes to question 1: "Do you agree to reject, through all legal means, the fraudulent imposition of the Paris Arbitral Award of 1899 that seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?"
98.11% voted yes to question 2: "Do you support the Geneva Agreement of 1966 as the only valid legal instrument to achieve a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?"
95.4% voted yes to 3: "Do you agree with Venezuela's historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Territorial Justice to resolve the territorial dispute over Guayana Esequiba?"
95.94% voted yes to question 4: "Do you agree to oppose, through all legal means, Guyana's attempt to unilaterally assert control over the ocean pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of International Law?"
95.93% voted yes to question 5: "Do you agree with the creation of the state of Guayana Esequiba and the implementation of an accelerated plan for the comprehensive care of the current and future population of that territory, including, among other things, granting citizenship and Venezuelan identity cards, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, thereby incorporating said state into the map of Venezuelan territory?"
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), more than 20 million Venezuelans were eligible to cast their votes today in 15,857 polling centers in 23 states, 335 counties and 1,141 parishes in a process that started at 06:00 (10:00 GMT) and was initially scheduled to end at 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT), but was extended by two hours due to higher than expected turnout and long lines at the polling centers.
The full results are expected to be announced some time on Monday.