C.E.O. Tamai Says Proxy System is Above Board and Transparent

Josephine Tamai

The People’s United Party has called on the Elections and Boundaries Office to provide transparency where the register of proxy voters is concerned and to allow them to inspect the proxy registers. That’s because the P.U.P. says it has received credible reports of elections shenanigans where proxies are concerned. Today, Tamai explained how the system works, and says it’s all above-board, transparent and accountable. 

Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer

“Persons employed outside Belize in any Belizean embassy, high commission, diplomatic mission or consulate including their spouses and dependents. Members of the Belize Defence Force, members of the Police Department assigned for duty on polling day. Persons acting as election officers, persons employed in transporting or any other manner assisting election officers. And it says providing that the person has to be eighteen years of age and registered as an elector under the act. The person should not be anybody who is subject to any legal incapacity to vote at the election. Persons are not entitled to vote for more than one person.  So for example, if I want you to vote as proxy, then I cannot ask somebody else to…somebody else cannot ask that person to vote by proxy as well. So each person is entitled to vote by proxy for only one person. So we want to clarify that. And again, persons for whom proxies have been appointed, those persons cannot show up on Election Day to vote in person. As long as their proxy has been approved and their names are on the proxy registers, then those persons cannot show up on Election Day to vote for themselves. Also a person who is an agent for any political party is not entitled to vote for anybody by proxy.”

The People’s United Party requested the presence of the O.A.S. to monitor the elections. Members of the Electoral Observer Mission began arriving on Wednesday.