Will General Elections Soon Be Called?

Michael Ashcroft

National elections are scheduled for this year, but the date is anyone’s guess. COVID-19 has put a wrench in most things; the U.D.P. is yet to elect a new leader and the war chest of the political parties may not be overflowing for a general elections.  With the pandemic ravishing the country, is there an appetite to come out to vote?   The Prime Minister says he has not been focusing on national elections, but one school of thought is that elections should be held early to give time to a new administration to begin the work of restoring the health of the economy.

Lord Michael Ashcroft

“Where Belize is concerned, we also have a general election coming up and some of the decisions may be clouded by political decisions as well medical decisions and economic decisions and in an ideal world I would like that election to come early so that whoever the government is, whoever the next prime minister is has a five-year mandate to start resolve these complicated issues without having too much of a political consideration in the decision making of what the nation has to face today.”

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“I have not had any time to even give any consideration to that.  This is a crisis of the moment and it is an all-consuming crisis.  Clearly at the back of my mind I must, however, non-overtly recognize that a point will come when we will have to in the United Democratic Party look at a convention date.  In terms of the general elections, again, it is my expectation, not just my hope that we will be sufficiently far advanced by the time the sort of last possible date for holding the general elections if you count back from the date of the last general elections, by the time that new date comes I expect that we will be in a position where the country will be able to hold the general elections.  But again, we don’t know.  I repeat that the experts keep telling us prepare for the possibility of a second wave, contemplate as well the chance that there could be a third wave.  I can’t put it any higher than that.  I expect we will be ready if it turns out that we are not then we deal with that situation at that time.”