Venezuela’s elections for governor of Guyana’s Essequibo region “huge failure” – Jagdeo

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly denounced the May 25 Venezuelan elections purporting to install a governor and officials in Guyana’s Essequibo region, branding the process a “huge failure” and condemning associated misinformation campaigns as desperate and blatantly false.
Speaking during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said not a single Guyanese crossed the border to vote in the sham elections orchestrated by the Nicolás Maduro regime.
Jagdeo specifically debunked a video circulated by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, which claimed to show Guyanese heading to Venezuela to vote. In reality, the video depicted passengers crossing the Demerara River near the Stabroek Market in Georgetown—nowhere near the border.
Calling out the misinformation as “fake and desperate,” Jagdeo said the Venezuelan regime is engaging in theatrics to mask internal instability.
“Something that could have easily been debunked, to delude themselves that people were going to cross the border to vote for these corrupt officials. In these elections that purported to elect a governor for executable and other officials at executable. Nobody crossed, nobody crossed. It’s a rejection. Nobody wants to be part of Venezuela. This is sovereign Guyanese territory,” the Vice President said.
Jagdeo credited the Guyanese people, especially schoolchildren and communities along the borders for sending a united message.
On this point, he added that while Venezuela may portray the election as a success through its state-controlled narrative, Guyana and the global community know better.
“The people of Guyana, every child, every man, every woman, they know instinctively, genetically, that every bit of the 83,000 square miles of our territory belong to us. You don’t need, as I said before, a PR programme in Guyana to tell us that. And it was demonstrated right across this country from communities and schools in the border with our flags there, all in the border with Venezuela, all the way to Crabwood Creek and to the border with Brazil. Our people, our children came out and they spoke resoundingly with a single voice that every bit of this land belongs to us as Guyanese,” Jagdeo said.
Back in December 2023, Presidents Irfaan Ali of Guyana and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela signed the Argyle Declaration in Argyle, St Vincent and the Grenadines. This agreement was facilitated by regional leaders, including Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, with support from CARICOM, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Brazil, and the United Nations (UN).
Key provisions of the Argyle Declaration include a commitment to non-aggression, the peaceful resolution framework and the establishment of a joint commission comprising Foreign Ministers and technical experts from both countries was to be formed to address mutually agreed matters.
Despite the provisions, Venezuela continues to use aggressive tactics against Guyana, including plans to unlawfully elect a Governor and legislative council of “Guayana Esequiba State”, which is the name the Spanish-speaking nation has given to Guyana’s Essequibo region. When asked whether India would support Guyana in the event of Venezuelan aggression, the High Commissioner said India’s assistance would be based on an official request from the Guyanese Government.
The Government has reiterated its commitment to safeguarding Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, while also seeking accountability through diplomatic channels.
Earlier this month, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had reaffirmed that the GDF is mobilised and prepared to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity amid ongoing tensions with Venezuela.
The Head of State emphasised that security operations are actively underway, particularly in light of Venezuela’s upcoming unlawful elections and continued claims over Guyana’s Essequibo region — claims which Guyana has consistently rejected and challenged through international legal avenues.
After years of failed good offices process through the UN, and based on the recommendation of the-then UN Secretary General, Guyana approached the World Court in March 2018, seeking a final and binding settlement of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.
The case is currently pending before the ICJ, which has already established its jurisdiction to hear the matter. Guyana has already filed two written pleadings on the merits, and Venezuela has filed one, with its second pleading due in August 2025.
Oral hearings are expected in the first half of 2026, following which the Court will deliberate on the case and issue its final judgment on the Merits, which will be binding on the parties.