CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelans will vote on Dec. 3 in a referendum on “the rights” over a potentially oil-rich territory in dispute with its neighbor Guyana, authorities said on Friday.
Both countries have been involved in a long-running dispute over their borders. In April, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it had jurisdiction over the issue.
The vote has been described by critics as a way for the ruling party to measure its strength ahead of planned elections next year and to encourage the international courts to give it full rights over the disputed border territory.
Venezuela protested an oil tender announced by Guyana in September, arguing that the offshore areas are subject to dispute and the companies awarded the fields will not have the rights to explore them.
The approximately 160,000 square kilometers under dispute along the countries’ borders is mostly impenetrable jungle, and known as the “Esequiba region.” It constitutes over two thirds of Guyana’s total land mass.
Venezuela’s claims extend over the territory was reactivated in recent years after the discovery of oil and gas near the maritime border.
(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago, Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Alistair Bell)
