The National Toshaos Council (NTC) has strongly rejected claims by Diosdado Cabello, General Secretary of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), that Venezuela has held meetings in Essequibo for elections.
Cabello alleged last week that community assemblies were successfully held in ‘Guayana Esequiba’ for the presentation of proposals of candidates for regional and parliamentary elections on 25 May.
He claimed that a total of 131,902 names were nominated in the approximately 47,000 community assemblies, with overall participation estimated at more than five million people.
The NTC described these statements as completely false and preposterous, noting that familiarity with Essequibo County would reveal that the number of nominees, communities assembled, and participants quoted by Cabello far exceeds what would be possible in this region.
To date, Venezuela has not attempted to carry out any election-related activities in Essequibo, the NTC said. They reiterated that any such attempt by Venezuela would be a violation of Guyana’s sovereignty.
Venezuela has been warned against any intent to hold election activities in Guyana’s Essequibo Region, which it falsely claims as its own.
Guyana’s Latin neighbour to the west has declared its intent to elect a governor and other officials for the region. Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has already warned that individuals, local or foreign, engaging in these illegal activities will be seen as committing an act of treason and will face the full brunt of the law.
