The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, speaks during an event at the National Electoral Council after the Essequibo referendum in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Rayner Peña/EFE.
The Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, formally received from the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, the notification of the results of the consultative referendum in defense of the Essequibo territory, in which the five questions obtained more than 95% positive support. He denounced an international campaign to try to “stain the heroic victory of the Venezuelan people” in the consultation.
The Electoral Branch reported that the consultation within the framework of the consultative referendum reached 10.4 million voters granting a resounding victory to the “Yes” option.
“This referendum is binding, and I abide by the people’s decision,” said President Maduro.
President Maduro rejected the narrative disseminated through international mainstream media, citing agencies such as EFE, AFP, and CNN en Español, which all claimed that the referendum was a “non-binding consultation.”
“If the voice of the people and the vote of the people is not binding, what is?” asked the head of state, who denounced that ExxonMobil and the United States government persist in their desire to silence the will of the people.
In this regard, the president noted that, if the thesis of the non-binding nature of a consultative referendum were true, in 2007, when the popular consultation on the constitutional reform was held, Commander Hugo Chávez “would have issued a decree and imposed a new Constitution,” considering that the proposal was not successful.
The Constitution states that the referendum is binding
President Maduro ratified that the people’s vote is binding, and to prove it he cited several articles of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
• Article 5 states that “sovereignty resides non-transferably in the people, who exercise it directly in the manner provided for in this Constitution and the law and indirectly through suffrage by the bodies that exercise Public Power.”
• Article 70 states: “Participation and involvement of people in the exercise of their sovereignty in political affairs can be manifested by: voting to fill public offices, referendum, consultation of public opinion, mandate revocation, legislative, constitutional and constituent initiative, open forums and meetings of citizens whose decisions shall be binding among others.” This article supports the binding nature of the popular consultation of the consultative referendum carried out this Sunday, Maduro explained.
• Maduro referred to Article 71, which ratifies the importance of the consultative referendum as follows: “Matters of special national transcendence may be referred to a consultative referendum, on the initiative of the President of the Republic, taken at a meeting of the Cabinet; by resolution of the National Assembly, passed by a majority vote; or at the request of a number of voters constituting at least 10% of all voters registered on the national, civil and electoral registry.”
The president called for the great civic–military union of all Venezuelans. “Let us continue to advance along the path of building consensus, and, in this way, we will be able to recover Essequibo. We will not fail you.“ he said.
In this sense, Maduro pointed out that “the decision that you (Venezuelans) have taken has given a vital push towards the future that will begin a sixth definitive stage: Now, we are going to recover Venezuela’s rights over the Essequibo territory.”
“Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the consultative referendum is binding, it is a popular mandate, and it has marked the beginning of a new stage in the fight for our Guayana Esequiba,” said President Maduro. “We have a plan, a concept, a vision, and I have called [us] to continue building, with a lot of spiritual strength, the great national union of all sectors.”
Essequibo Referendum: ‘Yes’ Wins Overwhelmingly with Significant Turnout
“After this wonderful democratic exercise that took place this December 3, all Venezuelans are winners, because here there were no minorities or exclusions or differences.” said President Maduro. “It was a popular participation of more than 10 million Venezuelans who said ‘yes’ to the defense of Guayana Esequiba.”
He said that these results allow “delivering a complete legacy of peace to the children of the future. This is a campaign of victory where there is no distinction of party or colors.” He noted that Venezuela carried out a debate and a unique pedagogical campaign, which is why he took the opportunity to recognize the work of the teachers of the country: “the great victory was celebrated by the boys, girls, young people and the teachers of the country.” This victory “is for the boys and girls because now the map shines completely with Guayana Esequiba,” he stated.
Voting record
President Maduro highlighted that Venezuela has the world record of voting procedures—30 during the last 24 years. During the event, President Maduro recalled some of the electoral processes that the Venezuelan people have experienced:
• The first national consultation held on April 25, 1999, to go to the constituent process; this act marked the beginning of the concept of participatory democracy in Venezuela.
• The second Consultative Referendum in history was called on December 15, 1999. The Venezuelan people came out to vote on the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It was approved with 71% of the votes.
• He recalled the sixth referendum in 2009, where Commander Chávez called to amend the Constitution and allow democratic, popular, and consecutive re-elections for all popularly elected positions.
• He highlighted that, in the electoral history of Venezuela, this is the seventh consultative referendum that has been held by the National Assembly and is binding for any decision that the Venezuelan government has to make supported by the will of the people for the definitive recovery of the Essequibo territory.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
