Belize City comprises ten constituencies with the south side being a traditional stronghold for the U.D.P. and north side normally polling in for the P.U.P. at General Elections. The battle here was fought long and hard, but on Wednesday, the U. D. P. machinery cranked up and out-maneuvered the P.U.P. and the NO vote. At […]
Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño released a pre-recorded statement today, following the outcome of Wednesday’s referendum. In a separate press release, Briceño first thanked Belizeans for being part of the referendum process and lauded the peaceful exercise of democracy. The Party Leader says that it will be the responsibility of the people to hold […]
This afternoon, the Guatemalan Government issued a recorded statement by President Jimmy Morales alongside his Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel. Morales celebrated Belize’s decision to take the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice and expressed hope that the issue be resolved soon. Here is an excerpt from the two and a half minute statement. […]
The Commonwealth Observer Group is winding down its visit to Belize. The group was formed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland following an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to observe the referendum, which was originally scheduled for April tenth. The Observer Group is led by Hubert A. Ingraham, former Prime Minister of The […]
There were several issues raised with the Observer Group as matters of concern. Some potential voters were reportedly being denied the franchise as a result of the inability to produce their required voter re-registration documents from the Office of Vital Statistics. The concerns also included the adequacy and sufficiency of voter education and the lack […]
Back to the referendum….In the Orange Walk District, two of the four constituencies voted in favour to submit the claim to the I.C.J. Orange Walk South and East voted YES while Orange Walk Central and North voted NO. Hipolito Novelo takes a closer look at the figures. Hipolito Novelo, Reporting Similarly to polling areas […]
Further up north in Corozal, the results were similar to those in Orange Walk. The south east constituency went NO where the P.U.P. has been strong for years. The difference was in the bay where at the national level, U.D.P.’s Pablo Marin has been representing the constituency, which went blue in the recent municipal elections. […]
Our reporters and correspondents were deployed across the country, including La Isla Bonita. The message in the Belize Rural South constituency was YES to the I.C.J. Admittedly, both the Area Representative Minister Manuel Heredia Junior and his political opponent, Andre Perez from the P.U.P., are on the same page of the referendum. Here is Dalila […]
From north to south….Toledo voters said NO to the I.C.J., but residents in Dangriga, including Sarawee and Hope Creek, voted a resounding YES. The voter turnout in southern Belize surpassed the fifty percent of the total number of newly registered voters. In Toledo east, fifty-seven percent of the voting population cast their votes. Of these, […]
Looking at Dangriga, which includes Sarawee and Hope Creek, there are four thousand four hundred newly registered voters; sixty-one percent cast their votes. Unlike Toledo, fifty-nine percent of the voters went YES. Correspondent Jolie Pollard followed the process in the division. Reporter “Did you fell prepared to make this decision today?” Sylvia Kuylen, […]
There were surprises in the Cayo District. Cayo South constituency, which is represented by the P.U.P.’s Julius Espat who is a staunch NO supporter, voted YES. If that was unexpected, it was also so for the border community in Benque Viejo del Carmen, a U.D.P. stronghold. There, in Cayo West, there was a resounding NO […]
One hundred and forty seven thousand plus voters are eligible to vote this Wednesday when the polls open at centres across the country. On this station our coverage starts at six o’clock and will continue throughout the day until the results are in. While the referendum will held be held under the Representation of the […]
The Elections and Boundaries Department sent out two advisories this evening in respect of the voting on Wednesday. It clarifies that electors wishing to cast their ballots in respect of the Belize Territorial Dispute Referendum can do so with or without their voter’s identification card. So there you have it, once you re-registered and your […]
At this time observers from the Commonwealth and from CARICOM are already in Belize in respect of Wednesdays Referendum. Their role is to keep an eye on the voting process. But there is also a role for monitors which are normally drawn from political parties but on this referendum the Elections and Boundaries Department has […]
During an impromptu press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow spoke of a number of issues relating to the I.C.J. A question post to the PM involved an opinion by the late Gian Gandhi. Gandhi, who served as Crown Counsel, Director of Public Prosecutions and Solicitor General before his passing, told Prime Minister Dean […]
About one hundred and forty-eight thousand persons re-registered and are eligible to vote on Wednesday. Voters will flock to three hundred and forty-four polling stations across the thirty-one constituencies. The number of persons, who successfully re-registered, amounts to seventy-two percent when compared to the old voters’ list. During the re-registration exercise, several persons across the […]
And finally from the Prime Minister, the press asked Barrow whether the U.D.P. will be focusing their resources on constituencies with a larger number of voters. According to Barrow, each of the party’s area representatives and standard bearers has been tasked to take out voters. Barrow also commented on the P.U.P.’s string of I.C.J. rallies […]
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Akbar Khan is in Belize. Khan arrived a few days ago and he has paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Dean Barrow and to the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis-Barrow. Khan also met with Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington as well with students of Anglican […]
“To Go or Not To Go; the I.C.J.” – is a book authored by former magistrate Norman Rodriguez. The sixty-four page book contains a history of the unfounded claim and seeks answers on whether or not the International Court of Justice is the solution to the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute. Rodriguez says the book is a […]
The emergency situation in the immediate aftermath of the explosion was dealt with precision. First responders were on the scene soon after, the siblings as well as the injured persons were rushed to the hospitals. The K.H.M.H. describes this type of emergency as a “mass casualty” because of the number of persons requiring medical attention […]
U.D.P. Senator Aldo Salazar was questioned by U.S. authorities last week. Senator Salazar was part of a delegation which included Senate President Lee Mark Chang when he was pulled aside by authorities in Houston, Texas. They were returning from a visit to Taiwan. Salazar, who is the attorney for Atlantic International Bank, was questioned about […]
Turning to an issue that has been in the headline for months…In just two days, the nation will make a very important and historic decision on whether or not submit the Belize/Guatemala dispute to the I.C.J. for final resolution. What should have been a national issue has been transformed into a partisan political matter with […]
On Friday, we showed you the grueling journey of five primary school students from Machakilha Village, who left their homes in the dead of night and walked six miles to another remote village en route to Corazon Creek where they sat part-two of the Primary School Exams. Without an access road, the isolated community is […]
Back to the I.C.J…..The U.D.P. and the P.U.P. have begun ramping out their individual campaigns to mobilize voters for Wednesday’s referendum. But the mobilization of tens of thousands of re-registered voters is costly. Last week, reports surfaced that each U.D.P. standard bearer and area representative would be getting seventy-five thousand dollars to mobilize supporters to […]
The Prime Minister also spoke of the expected voter turnout on May eight. When Guatemala held its I.C.J. referendum in April 2018, a little over two million voters participated out of seven point five million registered voters. One point seven million persons voted in favour while seventy-six thousand voted against taking the claim to the […]
