AG denounces Venezuelan referendum as a “backfired gimmick”

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has characterised the Venezuelan referendum to forcibly annex the Essequibo as a “gimmick” that has ultimately backfired, after the Spanish-speaking nation voted on Sunday.
Venezuelan authorities claimed that 10.5 million votes were counted, but have shied away from giving the number of voters. However, Henrique Capriles, a major figure of the Venezuelan Opposition, had put the actual voter turnout at 2.1 million voters.
Expressing grave concerns over the legitimacy of the reported 10.5 million votes, Nandlall raised questions about the credibility of the entire process as he addressed the Guyana Bar Association’s Symposium on Venezuela’s Referendum on Monday.
“If those votes are correct, it is more votes than the popular Hugo Chavez got at his last election. That’s the analysis of 10.5 million votes. There are pictures right across Venezuela of the polling stations and they were empty. So where did the 10.5 million votes come from? In any event, it is a 10.5 million of a voting population of about 20 million so it’s only 50 per cent.”
“This gimmick of a referendum backfired. It backfired. With his back against the wall now, [Nicolas] Maduro triumphantly says that now that the people of Venezuela have voted on the referendum and the certificate has been issued, he will move to the sixth step,” he contended.
The Legal Affairs Minister drew attention to the ‘sixth stage’ which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has spoken of, and questioned whether this comes down to violating measures imposed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
He told the symposium, “We have to wait and see. The International Court of Justice, however, in its ruling, I believe emphasised two issues repeatedly. One, it said, that the Court has jurisdiction and Venezuela is before the Court in this matter and the second important point, it repeatedly said that this ruling is binding on the parties.”
It was reaffirmed that the Guyana Defence Force is prepared and ready to move, and Guyana has secured support from allies across the hemisphere.
“I don’t believe that the international community will allow the ICJ’s order to be ignored. If that happens, it will strike at the very foundation of the international legal process and it will strike at the foundation of global legal order and at the heart of the United Nations itself.”

No evidence
Nandlall has stood resolute that there is no evidence that can impugn the unassailable legal foundation of the 1899 Arbitral Award – which set the boundary between Venezuela and affirmed that Essequibo belongs to Guyana.
He underlined, “Absolutely not a scintilla of evidence has been produced that can stand up in a court of municipal law, more so international law, has been produced to impugn, invalidate or even share the legal foundation of the Arbitral Award. None at all.”
Venezuela’s recent actions have raised eyebrows as it could set a precedent for challenging previously resolved disputes. If the Spanish-speaking nation were to “get away with this gimmick”, the AG outlined, it has the potential to unravel years of arbitration, mediation, and other peaceful methods that have successfully settled numerous international disputed.
“The international legal process will never countenance Venezuela’s contention, allow it to succeed, and I take great comfort in that fact.”
After abiding by the 1899 Arbitral Award for almost half a century, Venezuela in 1962 claimed that the Essequibo area of Guyana belonged inside its borders. Guyana has noted that the boundary between the then-colony of British Guiana and Venezuela was determined by the Arbitral Award as a “full” and “final” settlement.
Last month, the Venezuelan National Electoral Council had published a list of five questions that it planned to put before the Venezuelan people in the December 3, 2023 referendum. The referendum sought the Venezuelan people’s approval to, among other things, annex Essequibo and create a Venezuelan state. It also sought the citizens’ approval for Venezuela to grant citizenship and identity cards to residents of Essequibo.
However, Guyana had approached the ICJ, which barred Venezuela from taking action to challenge Guyana’s sovereignty over Essequibo. (G12)