Political climate with Venezuela significantly impacting Guyanese elections - Political strain between Venezuela and Guyana dominates the upcoming elections in Guyana
In a tense turn of events, a shooting incident took place on Sunday afternoon (local time) near the town of Bamboo in the disputed Essequibo region, claimed by both Guyana and Venezuela. The incident involved a patrol ship carrying election materials, and according to the authorities, the shots were fired from the Venezuelan side.
The crew of the ship returned fire after the attack, but fortunately, no one was injured on the Guyanese side. The crew continued their journey and delivered the election materials to the polling stations as planned.
This is not the first time neighboring countries Guyana and Venezuela have accused each other of shooting at their ships in the past. The Essequibo region, home to approximately 125,000 of Guyana's residents, has been a point of contention between the two nations for years.
The election in Guyana is being contested by three main candidates: Irfaan Ali (incumbent head of state), Aubrey Norton (opposition candidate), and Azruddin Mohamed (a billionaire with a new party aiming to break the traditional two-party system). The future president of Guyana will have to manage the country's vast oil reserves, which have quadrupled the state budget in just five years.
Guyana's outgoing president, Irfaan Ali, had taken a hard line in the territorial dispute with Venezuela and received backing from the USA. In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of "consequences" for Venezuela if it attacked the neighboring country.
Venezuela's left-wing nationalist president, NicolΓ‘s Maduro, had a law passed in April 2024 declaring Essequibo a federal state of Venezuela and accused the USA of establishing "secret military bases" in the region. The government in Georgetown described the law as a "flagrant violation" of international law.
Last year, Guyana had the highest economic growth in Latin America at over 43 percent. Despite this growth, the election result in Guyana is expected no earlier than Thursday. The election will decide the fate of the Essequibo region and the management of Guyana's valuable oil reserves.
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