Venezuela elected officials on Sunday for the first time for Essequibo region, an oil-rich territory that Caracas claims from neighboring Guyana as part of a centuries-old dispute. 

The vote took place in a micro-district of 21,403 voters in Venezuela's Bolivar state, on the Guyanese border. Caracas had specially created it for Sunday's legislative and regional elections. 

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.