Supreme Court Proceeds With BPM’s Constitutional Challenge

Arthur Saldivar

The Belize Peace Movement and Vision Inspired by the People, V.I.P., have brought a constitutional challenge against the Government of Belize in relation to the electoral division claiming that the thirty-one constituencies are disproportionate.  During this morning’s case management, the court issued deadlines for additional affidavits to be filed.  In this case, there are a total of ten claimants who are required to file affidavits explaining how their rights are being violated because of the disproportion in the constituencies.  After today’s court session, attorney Arthur Saldivar in speaking with the media called out Election and Boundaries for, “undermining democracy.”

Arthur Saldivar, Attorney for Belize Peace Movement

“Applications has been filed, okay.  A constitutional challenge has been made in its proper form and the court is moving ahead in putting out case management orders to have the matter progress so that the issues can be ventilated.  Now what is taking place now, we have ten claimants from different constituencies across the country all of whom are saying our rights are violated.  All ten must present their version on how their rights are particularly violated in the area where they are from.  So far three of those persons have filed their affidavits which were included with the application itself.  There are seven outstanding and those seven will be put in place before the thirteenth of January.  That basically covers all ten.  Apart from that, the government now, in the form of the Attorney General, has the responsibility to respond on the twenty-seventh I believe it is and once they respond that response will take the form of the defense and also affidavits on their part.  Thereafter the court will reconvene and the process moves forward.”