Latest update September 11th, 2026 10:26 AM
ICJ orders Venezuela to back off from holding elections in Essequibo
Kaieteur News- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered that, pending a final decision in the case, Venezuela must refrain from conducting elections or preparing to conduct elections in the Essequibo Region.
The order was handed down on May 1, 2025. According to information released by President Irfaan Ali, the ICJ also noted that the Court reaffirmed the provisional measures of its order of December 1, 2023, which it said should be immediately and effectively implemented.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd
Last March, the ICJ acknowledged Guyana’s Request for provisional measures in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). The ICJ was asked to take urgent action in response to Venezuela’s plans to hold elections in the Essequibo region.
Government had sought the measures from the court after Venezuela had announced that elections were scheduled to take place on 25 May 2025 in the Essequibo region. Guyana asserted that the conduct of these elections, along with any preparatory acts, would violate its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence. Furthermore, Guyana argued that such actions would breach the ICJ’s provisional order issued on December 1, 2023. Guyana had also warned that Venezuela’s electoral activities could cause irreparable harm and underscored the urgency of provisional measures.
In reacting to the order of the ICJ, the Government of Guyana said it welcomes the order issued on 1 May 2025. “The Government of Guyana reiterates its unwavering commitment to the principles of international law, the peaceful resolution of disputes and to the ICJ Process for a final, peaceful and lawful resolution of the controversy concerning the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award that determined the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela,” the government said in a statement. “The Government of Guyana further calls upon the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to comply fully with the ICJ’s orders, which are legally binding, and refrain from any actions that violate Guyana’s territorial integrity or disrupt the peace and security of the Latin American and Caribbean region,” the statement added.
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