Venezuela’s government wins vote on claiming part of Guyana, but turnout seems lackluster

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JUAN ARRAEZ
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has the victory he was seeking in a weekend referendum on whether to claim sovereignty over an oil-rich area of neighboring Guyana. But lackluster turnout suggests that his government is losing influence and is tone deaf to people’s needs. Maduro’s government had promoted the referendum for weeks as a unifying act of patriotism, including with theater performances and reggaeton music. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council is reporting participation in the referendum by a 10.5 million voters. That would have been just over half of the 20.6 million eligible people. But those figures defy what people witnessed at voting centers, where the long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.