55 Voters Are Disallowed from Transferring to Belmopan

Earlier we told you about voters transfer in Orange Walk and Belize City. The situation in Belmopan is no different. As you know, three candidates are making their bid for that seat; independent candidate Anna Banner Guy, P.U.P. standard bearer Oscar Mira and the incumbent U.D.P. area rep John Saldivar.  Between July and up to August tenth, one hundred and thirty-five persons were transferred to Belmopan. Mira alleges that illegalities are taking place facilitated by politicians and their henchmen.  Independent candidate Banner-Guy also frowns on this practice but Mira says that he and his committee have challenged many transfers and so far, fifty-five of those electors have been struck off. Since August tenth, fifty-two new transfers have occurred.

Oscar Mira, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Belmopan

“Two years ago, there was an exercise, the re-registration exercise. This was supposed to clean up this list, this was to supposed to come and make sure that if you live in Belmopan you vote in Belmopan. A lot of resources, a lot of time, a lot of effort was put into this exercise. It is very disheartening and it is illegal and unethical for those who are bringing in people to register in a constituency where they don’t live. The law is straight on what you need as a prerequisite to register in a constituency. You need to live there at least two months.”

Anna Banner-Guy

Anna Banner-Guy, Independent Candidate, Belmopan

“We are very disappointed in the way things are going over at Elections and Boundaries in terms of the number of persons being registered and transferred into Belmopan that don’t actually live here. I mean come on, we know this community, we know our people and we know our neighbouring people. We see a lot of faces coming in from Roaring Creek, from Camalote, from Cayo South in general and even beyond. Because I have worked nationally in Belize, and so I see two young men coming in from Placencia.”

Oscar Mira

Oscar Mira

“People are coming in from other constituencies and registering and they don’t even have an address; they are being given addresses out here. This is unethical; this is illegal. But I want to big up the Election and Boundaries officers here in Belmopan. Last month alone, over fifty persons were disallowed because they were not found at the address where they said that they live. Many of these houses are empty houses or houses that are up for sale; no one lives there.”