GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana is maintaining its sovereignty over the Essequibo region, even as Venezuela announced that officials, including a governor, had been elected on Sunday for the first time in the an oil-rich territory.
Neil Villamizar,, Governor of “Guayana Esequiba”Delivering his independence day address, marking the country’s 59th anniversary of political independence from Britain, President Irfaan Ali said the territory of Guyana is a settled fact of history and law.
“We are not aggressors, we are protectors, but let no one mistake our peacefulness for weakness. If our land is threatened, we shall rise as one nation, one people, one destiny,” Ali said.
He maintained that Guyana would defend itself from any aggression, telling the nation that independence brought with it the supreme authority and that is sovereignty, to govern itself.
“Independence was never just a matter of geography or autonomy. It was a sacred promise, a pledge that the people of Guyana- regardless of race, religion, class, or creed- would together build a future,” the Guyanese Head of State said.
Meantime, the United States has reiterated support for Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the US Department of State, Michael Kozak, in a brief statement on Sunday denounced the actions of the Nicholas Maduro-led Venezuelan regime.
“The United States rejects all attempts by Nicolas Maduro and his illegitimate regime to undermine Guyana’s territorial integrity, including this latest sham election in the Essequibo region,” Kozak said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Venezuela said the elections on Sunday took place in a micro-district of 21,403 voters in Venezuela’s Bolivar state, on the Guyanese border, which Caracas had specially created for the legislative and regional elections.
There were no polling stations in the Essequibo region, which is home to 125,000 of Guyana’s 800,000 citizens. It is also located close to massive offshore oil deposits, with current production averaging some 650,000 barrels per day.
“Today, Essequibo has a governor,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told his supporters on Sunday night moments after the results were announced.
Neil Villamizar, the candidate for Maduro’s ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, received 4,720 votes, making him the first governor of Venezuela’s newly created 24th state.
“He will have full support for his work, because the people of Essequibo earned it, so that the people of Essequibo have all the rights as the people of Venezuela,” Maduro said.
Like in Essequibo, Maduro’s party swept the board across Venezuela in parliamentary and regional elections, which were boycotted by the opposition in protest over his disputed re-election last year.
Besides the governor, Essequibo also elected eight deputies and regional councilors.
Turnout in the tiny constituency — named “Guayana Esequiba” by Venezuelan authorities when it was created last year — was about 32 percent, and Villamizar received nearly all the votes.
Villamizar, a Navy commander who regularly appeared in uniform during his campaign, will have no power over the territory as his position is symbolic.
