March 1st 2006, Ash Wednesday, is election day and the fever that accompanies every election is already starting to spike. And for proof of that you can just look at the political ads in this newscast. But while showtime is humming along, on the ground, tonight the political machines are roaring, as party organizers get voters registered before tonight's 9:00 pm deadline. Today Alfonso Noble went out looking for the political rush.
Alfonso Noble Reporting, [alfnoble@yahoo.com]
On the last day of registration for new voters to be eligible to cast their ballot in the upcoming municipal elections, there was an increase in activity at the registration offices throughout Belize City and other municipalities. Chief Elections Officer Stuart Leslie says it's been like this since the offices opened for business earlier this year.
Stuart Leslie, Chief Elections Officer
"It's increased steadily since we opened offices on January 3rd. We are averaging around I would say at each of offices there are forty to fifty people registering a day which is very heavy. So that at the end of the work day today, which is 9 pm at night, we believe that from January 3rd to today, over two thousand new people would have registered."
And that volume has been stimulated by those hopeful politicians who are urging prospective voters to come out and register. Phillip Willoughby is one of those
entering the race for the council in Belize City.
Phillip Willoughby, UDP Candidate
"It hasn't been a very difficult job; creating the awareness among the citizenry. Young people, and even more students from SJC and UB, have come out to register overwhelmingly. That's what the last couple of days have represented for myself."
But while Willoughby says it's been easy to bring out people to become voters, Leslie says that in order to get to vote, the applications must be brought in by 9 tonight.
Stuart Leslie,
"We'd like people to go and register. Anybody who would qualify, an eligible voter, we want to encourage you to go and register today. If you were to show up tomorrow or the next day then you would not be able to vote in the coming city councils and town boards elections. We will close the registration tonight at 9 pm, that is to say that if you come in by nine o'clock, we will accept your application for registration. Registration is ongoing, we don't stop that, but for you to qualify to vote in the next elections, which is March 1st, you will have to register before nine o'clock or by nine o'clock tonight."
Thereafter officers at the Elections and Boundaries Department as well as the politicians will be doing their due diligence for the final voters list to be ready by the end of this month.
Before the voter's list if fully ready it must undergo political and institutional scrutiny as well as a run through the legal system to formalize the list.
