2023 Venezuelan referendum

The territory controlled and administered by Guyana and claimed by Venezuela is a 159,500 km² (61,600 sq mi) region west of the Essequibo River.^[7][8] Portions of the area were formerly under the control of the Dutch empire as part of the Essequibo colony.^[9] In 1814, the British acquired the area as a result of a treaty with the Netherlands. Following the establishment of Gran Colombia in 1819, territorial disputes began between Gran Colombia, later Venezuela, who annexed Essequibo, and the British, who appointed Robert Hermann Schomburgk to define the western boundary in 1835. His "Schomburgk line" established the boundary^[8] and coincided with the position of Essequibo according to the older maps of the Dutch. In 1841 the government of José Antonio Páez denounced, instead, the incursion of Venezuelan territory by the British Empire.

Subsequently, gold was discovered in the Yuruarí River basin in 1876. In 1895, Venezuela sought the support of the United States and advocated for the country to intervene in the dispute through the Monroe Doctrine.^[8] The United States House of Representatives proposed Resolution 252 to Congress, which recommended the dispute be resolved by international arbitration following pressure from American president Grover Cleveland.^[8] During the Venezuelan crisis of 1895, the Schomburgk Line was proposed as a border between Venezuela and British Guiana but neither of the parties agreed on the exact boundary. With the Treaty of Washington in 1897, however, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Venezuela both agreed to arbitration with the expectation that the arbitral ruling in Paris would ultimately be a "full, perfect, and final settlement"^[10] to the border dispute. It was the belief that the resulting decision was a compromise between the great powers of the time.^[8]

The region's status is subject to the Geneva Agreement of 1966, signed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and British Guiana. The agreement stipulated that the parties involved will agree to find a peaceful, practical, and satisfactory resolution to the dispute.^[11] Venezuela argues that the 1966 agreement nullified the results of the original arbitration that established the Schomburgk line as the border between Venezuela and Guyana.^[12] Venezuela's claim to the territory it calls "Guayana Esequiba" is one of the only issues that receives unified support from both chavistas and the Venezuelan opposition.^[3]

Venezuela insists on following the terms of the 1966 agreement and achieving a solution through dialogue. Venezuela believes that the principle of uti possidetis would apply in the situation.^[8] Guyana's leadership rejects direct dialogue with Venezuela on the matter and President of Guyana Irfaan Ali insists on a resolution done through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Venezuela, in turn, does not recognize the legitimacy of the ICJ in resolving the dispute.^[8] In 2023, the President of Venezuela sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to ask him to mediate the dispute.^[8]

Claims over the territory intensified as a result of the discovery of significant discovery of oil and gas deposits on offshore sites of the territory.^[2] Critics of the referendum believe that it is a way to test support for the ruling government ahead of next year's elections, as well as creating pressure for international courts to grant Venezuela full rights over the territory.^[2]

The following questions were approved by the National Electoral Council on 23 October 2023^[13] and approved by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Justice Court on 1 November 2023:

1. "Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently interposed by the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?"
2. "Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?"
3. "Do you agree with Venezuela's historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?"
4. "Do you agree to oppose, by all legal means, Guyana's claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of international law?"
5. "Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory, which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and identity card? Venezuela, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?"^[13]

On 19 November, a referendum rehearsal was held in Venezuela.^[14] On 29 November, an electoral rehearsal was also organized for high school students between the ages of 12 and 18.^[15][16] It was announced that more than 350,000 military personnel would guard the electoral process nationwide.^[17]

During the referendum on 3 December, low turnout and presence at polling stations were reported.^{[18][19][20][21]}

The National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) declared that voters chose "yes" more than 95% of the time on each of five questions on the ballot,^[4] saying that there was a total of 10,554,320 votes, without specifying if it was the number of voters or of answered questions.^[22][23]

International analysts and media reported that turnout had been remarkably low and that the Venezuelan government had falsified the results.^[5][24] The CNE published and later deleted a table showing around 2 million votes for each of the five questions, suggesting that the votes were counted instead of the voters.^[5] Opposition politician Henrique Capriles, who also voted in the referendum, declared that the turnout was around 10.2%, saying that each voter had five choices, which would mean that 2,110,864 people participated.^[22][23] Nevertheless, there existed five votes per ballot for each individual.