Guyana said Thursday that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Venezuela not to conduct or prepare to conduct elections in the resource-rich Essequibo region, which is administered by Guyana but claimed by its western neighbor.
President Irfaan Ali announced the news, noting that the United Nations’ top court judges unanimously reaffirmed its directive from December 2023, which instructed Venezuela not to interfere with Guyana’s control of the territory. The latest directive regarding elections was reportedly passed by a vote of 12 to 3.
“Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from conducting elections, or preparing to conduct elections, in the territory in dispute, which the Co-operative Republic of Guyana currently administers and over which it exercises control,” the Court said in a note to Guyana posted by President Irfaan Ali on Facebook.
The court’s directive follows an announcement by Venezuela that it plans to conduct an election in Essequibo, a development Georgetown says is a breach of international law.
The case at the ICJ centers on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that legally determined the boundary between Venezuela and then-British Guiana. Venezuela accepted the award for decades before declaring it null and void in 1962, laying claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in the Essequibo region.
Tensions have also spilled into maritime zones. Venezuela has extended its claim into large portions of Guyana’s offshore Exclusive Economic Zone, affecting ExxonMobil’s operations in the Stabroek Block. The company has been unable to explore the block’s western section due to the territorial row.
Earlier this year, Guyana reported that a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel entered its EEZ and approached the Prosperity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, marking Venezuela’s most easterly incursion into waters where Exxon’s oil production is concentrated.
The United States has warned that Venezuela could face consequences if its provocations continue.
Guyana has also responded to recent comments by China’s embassy in Georgetown calling for a peaceful resolution through negotiations. Georgetown reiterated that the matter is not subject to bilateral talks, citing the 1966 Geneva Agreement and the referral of the case to the ICJ by the UN Secretary-General.
A decision by the World Court could come in 2026.
