Guatemala demands, but no changes to Referendum Act

As we reported on Thursday, the president of Guatemala Otto Perez Molina has come out publicly to say that Guatemala is asking Belize for a reversal of the referendum act to where it was in 2008 thereby removing the sixty percent requirement of voter participation to give the poll validity. Guatemala only requires a simple majority so Perez Molina believes it puts Guatemala at a disadvantage.  The press reports quote Perez Molina as saying that Guatemala is not going to spend money on a referendum that they find unreasonable. It is the first time that Guatemala has asked Belize to amend the Referendum Act, but it is an issue that has been in the headlines in the Guatemalan press. In January when the awareness campaign was launched, we asked the Prime Minister whether or not the Referendum Act would be amended.  The prime minister gave an unequivocal undertaking that it would not. Here is that interview.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“They misunderstand the sequence of events. I get the impression that they are under the mistaken view that this is a provision that we put into the law after the referendum was agreed. As you know, this was a provision that’s been there since 2008. I can tell you that it is part of the Referendum Act. It is part of the laws of this country, and there is absolutely no intention to amend the laws of this country in that regard.”

Reporter

Dean Barrow

“Where does this put the Referendum for Belize?”

Dean Barrow

 “It puts it where it has always been, that it is a process that is conducted in accordance with the laws of this country. And since the Referendum Act of this country says that any Referendum in order to be valid must reach that sixty percent threshold that is the case.”

Daniel Ortiz, Channel 7

“Sir but this isn’t a tangential issue, we’ve received information that the international community doesn’t want to buy in because they feel as though it’s an expensive process that can be all for naught.”

Dean Barrow

“In any case and under any circumstances, it can be all for naught if there is a no vote. The idea is to have these referendums to determine which way people in both countries want to go. It is the sovereign right of the people on both sides of the border to make that determination. If there is a no vote—let’s assume we reach the sixty percent threshold and there is a no vote—can that be an argument against not holding a referendum? Listen, I don’t want to appear to be insensitive to what you are telling me are international concerns, but I want to make clear that the law of our land is the law of our land. And we will proceed in accordance with the law of our land.”

Reporter

“Do you see the concern raised by the media in Guatemala affecting the process here in Belize and in terms the way Belizeans may take their decision in this referendum?”

Dean Barrow

“I believe that Belizeans will in fact look at the education campaign, read the material, listen to the presentations and make up their minds based on their gut feelings; based on the way they view this fundamental issue from the perspective of a Belizean citizen.”