Electoral divisions to be redrawn

Another Palacio is in the news tonight and while we’re not sure if she’s related to Milton, Chief Elections Officer Myrtle Palacio is under no less pressure than her athletic namesake. A government press release late this afternoon confirmed what many political observers have long known: the nation’s twenty-nine electoral districts need to be redrawn. The reason is that over the years some constituencies have lost voters which others have gained, to the point where in the 1998 election only one thousand three hundred thirty-four people in Fort George elected their representative while in Cayo North it took four thousand six hundred thirty voters to perform the same exercise. Section eighty of the Belize Constitution requires a more equal representation and according to the release the new boundaries will be drawn with regard to geography, communication and administrative considerations in addition to equality of numbers. When Palacio and the Elections and Boundaries Commission have done their work, the proposals will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval.