Nomination Day is Here!
Josephine Tamai
This Wednesday, both major political parties are expected to take out their supporters in numbers as they head to the various offices designated for nomination centers, countrywide. There, after a vetting process by the presiding officer, it becomes official for their names to be printed on the ballots for the upcoming municipal elections on March seventh. A total of sixty-seven seats are available in the nine municipalities, including two city and seven town councils. Aside from the two main political parties and the B.P.P., there is an independent mayoral candidate in the city and now an emerging party in Dangriga; the Unity Upliftment Party that has indicated it will field a slate in the south. Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai breaks down the process that the political aspirants must satisfy to qualify.
Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer
“In order for persons to qualify to get nominated, these persons, for Belize City especially, these persons have to be a citizen of Belize and a voter. In Belmopan City and the towns, you have to be a citizen of Belize and a registered voter of that municipality. And those persons, like you rightly mentioned, need to bring two persons along with them in order to nominate them. These two persons must be registered voters for the municipality. So they have to ensure that these two persons are registered voters in that municipality for you to be able to nominate somebody. Nomination commences at ten a.m. and concludes at four p.m. We had a meeting last week whereby the political parties and persons interested in contesting the elections, where it was agreed that nomination for the People’s United Party will commence at ten up until twelve noon. From twelve noon, up until two, we have the B.P.P., any other interested political party and the independent candidates. Also from two up until four p.m., we have the United Democratic Party. That does not mean that if any person who wants to come and get nominated outside of their allotted time, they cannot come; they will be able to come in and do their nominations because the law provides from ten a.m. until four p.m. So it is just an agreement so that people don’t have any clashes to try to separate the political parties.”
