[1/4] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro shows his ballot during a referendum over Venezuela's rights to the potentially oil-rich region of Esequiba in Guyana, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 3, 2023.
REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria Acquire Licensing RightsCARACAS/GEORGETOWN, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Venezuelans will vote on Sunday in a referendum backed by President Nicolas Maduro's government over a potentially oil-rich territory that is the subject of a long-running border dispute with Guyana.
The five-question referendum includes a question rejecting International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction to decide to which country the territory around the Esequibo river belongs.
On Friday, the court responded to a request from Guyana to halt the referendum, ordering Venezuela to refrain from taking any action that would alter the status quo, without expressly forbidding the vote.
The Sunday vote has caused anxiety in Guyana, with the government urging citizens to keep calm.
Persons:
Nicolas Maduro, Leonardo Fernandez Viloria, Nicolas Maduro's, Maduro, Ricardo Sucre, Benigno Alarcon, Andres, Rocio San, Kim Rampersaud, Vivian Sequera, Julia Symmes Cobb, Will Dunham
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, of Justice, Central University of Venezuela, Center for Political Studies, Andres Bello Catholic University, Kiana, Thomson
Locations:
Esequiba, Guyana, Caracas, Venezuela, Rights CARACAS, GEORGETOWN, Sucre, Rocio San Miguel, Georgetown, Brazil