Is Sol-Gen’s Office Investigating Mayor Bradley’s Candidacy?

Darrell Bradley

Darrell Bradley was nominated today, so he’s now officially registered to run in the Caribbean Shores Division. But he’s still the sitting Belize City Mayor which means that he has a lot on his plate. Some say that he has way too much and should have demitted office when he became the candidate for higher office. It’s an argument the Mayor has always refuted, and he did so today. We brought up the question because of reports that the Sol-Gen’s office had been looking into the matter.

Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

“The Solicitor General’s Office wouldn’t do that. I mean that is something that would come from the Elections and Boundaries. This is what I say in relation to all of these issues. Belize is a democratic country; it is a country of laws and processes. Today is the Nomination Day. We had done research on this because it is something that is very important to ensure that every single candidate qualifies for nomination. The senior counsel, Michael Young, did a briefing to the party. He looked specifically as it relates to the issue of a mayor being nominated for office and being elected for office so that this is not something new. We had engaged the Elections and Boundaries long before this in terms of my candidacy. There is no difficulty with it; they accepted the nomination, we are very satisfied in relation to that and the Solicitor General would not call me. The responsibility in relation to elections and the management of elections and the ensuring that people are qualified for elections falls with the Chief Elections Officer. I’m certain in relation to the transition, the City Council has Miss McKenzie as our legal counsel; the Elections and Boundaries Office has their counsel in terms of advising us and of course likewise, we have our own personal attorneys and I, myself, am an attorney. If any issues arise, we will deal with it in a very sober, mature way as befitting our democracy.”