1998 had record 90% turnout

There are few more important obligations of citizenship than voting on election day. It’s difficult to generalize about voter turnout in Belize because the voting lists are not regularly purged of those voters who have died or moved out of the country. Probably the most indicative numbers are those from the 1998 election, which was preceded by a complete re-registration exercise. In that election, over ninety percent of those people registered to vote actually went to the polls to cast their ballots. While it is doubtful that admirable level will be achieved this time–if only because of the number of people who died or moved abroad during the last five years–it is expected that at least eighty percent of registered voters will turn out at the polls…not a bad batting average in any league.

And in case you’re still not sure who to vote for, we’ll go through the list of twenty-nine constituencies one last time:

Freetown: Francis Fonseca P.U.P., Doug Singh U.D.P.

Caribbean Shores: Jose Coye P.U.P., Oscar Ayuso U.D.P.

Pickstock: Godfrey Smith P.U.P., Diane Haylock U.D.P., Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington Independent.

Fort George: Said Musa P.U.P., Carlos Walker U.D.P., Francis Gegg Independent.

Collet: Remijio Montejo P.U.P., Patrick Faber U.D.P., Dr. Paul Jones Independent.

Lake Independence: Cordel Hyde P.U.P., Tony Leslie U.D.P., Hubert Elrington Independent, Patrick Rogers Independent.

Mesopotamia: Philip Brackett P.U.P., Michael Finnegan U.D.P..

Albert Division: Mark Espat P.U.P., Marilyn Williams U.D.P., Sydney Fuller Independent.

Port Loyola: Dolores Balderamos Garcia P.U.P., Anthony “Boots” Martinez U.D.P., Percival Reynolds Independent.

Queen’s Square: Dickie Bradley P.U.P., Dean Barrow U.D.P.

Belize Rural Central: Ralph Fonseca P.U.P., Colin Gillett U.D.P.

Belize Rural North: Max Samuels P.U.P., Felix Sutherland U.D.P.

Belize Rural South: Patty Arceo P.U.P., Manuel Heredia U.D.P.

Corozal Bay: Vildo Marin P.U.P., Carlos Castillo U.D.P., Roy Rodriguez Independent.

Corozal North: Valdemar Castillo P.U.P., Nemencio Acosta U.D.P., Felipe Tzul Independent.

Corozal South East: Florencio Marin P.U.P., Servando Samos U.D.P., Hipolito Bautista Independent.

Corozal Southwest: Gregorio Garcia P.U.P., Gabriel Martinez U.D.P., Lucilio Tek Independent.

Orange Walk Central: Johnny Briceño P.U.P., Miguel Urbina U.D.P.

Orange Walk North: Servulo Baeza P.U.P., Philip de la Fuente U.D.P.

Orange Walk East: Elodio Aragon U.D.P., Dave Burgos P.U.P.

Orange Walk South: Ismael Cal P.U.P., Julian Padron U.D.P., Erwin Sanchez Independent.

Cayo Central: Mario Castellanos P.U.P., Dito Juan Independent, Rene Montero U.D.P., Ivan Roberts Independent.

Cayo North: Ainslie Leslie P.U.P., Dean Williams U.D.P.

Cayo South: Agripino Cawich P.U.P., John Saldivar U.D.P.

Cayo West: Erwin Contreras U.D.P., Kendall Mendez P.U.P.

Dangriga: Sylvia Flores P.U.P., Russell Garcia U.D.P., Ian Caliz Independent.

Stann Creek West: Glenford Eiley U.D.P., Rodwell Ferguson P.U.P., Michael Flores Independent.

Toledo East: Mike Espat P.U.P., Eden Martinez U.D.P.

Toledo West: Marcial Mes P.U.P., Dennis Usher U.D.P., Leonardo Acal Independent.