Fort George Area Representative Suggests Splitting Elections and Boundaries Commission

Henry Charles Usher

We heard from another Belize City area representative today, Henry Charles Usher, who represents the voters of Fort George. He was also in Belmopan. Here is what he told us about the redistricting exercise and the possible future of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, as the Briceño administration seeks to make a regular practice of evaluating the size of constituencies.

Henry Charles Usher, Area Representative, Fort George

“I do agree with you that the constitution has to be followed and we have to make sure that the constituencies are as close as possible to each other. There is a discrepancy that is allowed internationally and we have to look towards making sure that they are as close as possible going forward. This is an exercise that should have happened a long time ago. As Minister Fonseca said earlier, the previous administration kicked this can down the road. They were happy in the way the constituencies are divided. The 2020 elections happened. It was a pledge in Plan Belize to make sure we carry out redistricting and we have started that process. One of the areas we have to look at is perhaps separating the commission itself. We might have an election commission and a boundaries commission. The reason for that is that other jurisdiction does have full time boundaries commission looking at constituencies, making sure that they are always as equal as possible. The elections commission of course deals with elections too. Really, in Belize we have combined those for a long time, but perhaps it is time we have a full time boundaries commission making sure the electoral boundaries follow the constitutions and have those working all the time.”