Prime Minister, Opposition Leader Face to Face in City

A meeting was held this morning in Belize City between P.U.P. leader John Briceño and Prime Minister Dean Barrow.  The rare encounter was at the invitation of the P.M.  Though no official statement has been issued, it is known that the two discussed major national issues involving the referendum, re-registration exercise and the general relations between Belize and Guatemala. The Prime Minister has publicly said that the referendum on whether to take the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice will be held after a long overdue re-registration exercise.  That exercise is scheduled to start in July and will involve the cleaning up of the voters list which is likely to give way to new constituencies. And with Guatemala already having voted ‘YES’ in a referendum, it is expected that G.O.B. will proceed to hold the poll next year but it will need cooperation from the P.U.P.  As it relates to relations with Guatemala and whether the Opposition will be part of the team, that will be taken to the executives of both parties for a decision. In his weekly social media message, Briceño chided government for not including the P.U.P. in efforts to solve the dispute so we see how it all works out following today’s meeting.