The national assembly was dissolved today and the Governor General has issued a Writ of Election for the holding of a General Election on Wednesday 11th November 2020.
The writ declares that polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. while nominations for candidates will be received on Wednesday 21st October. at the various nomination centers,
So, with that nomination day, only persons who registered on or before 11th September 2020 will be eligible to vote in the General Election.
And so while the mass parties are getting ready to flex for the political season season, the Belize Peace Movement is looking to flex in the courts. IT is seeking a Supreme Court injunction to stop the election from taking place.
As you know Since December of last year, they've been pursuing a lawsuit in the Supreme Court to trigger a redistricting exercise before these upcoming elections. They are on a mission to get the 31 electoral constituencies revised so that disparity in the size between a division like Fort George with less than 2,00 voters in Belize City, and Stann Creek West in Southern Belize with over 8 thousand isn't so wide. They say that the disproportional sizes in the divisions are a direct violation of the constitution.
That case has been making its way through the court process, and the last week Monday. the Peace Movement announced an election expert was in the process of preparing a detailed report on his assessment of the disparity in the number of voters in 31 constituencies.
Now that the Prime Minister has announced a date for elections, the Belize Peace Movement wants to activate that injunction, which was one of the judicial reliefs they were pursuing in their original claim.
This evening, we spoke with Bobby Lopez, the Chairman of the Peace Movement. He spoke with us via teleconference about it:
Roberto "Bobby" Lopez - Chairman, BPM
"We've had an injunction built into our case, in the event that such an event took place that has now been triggered, which is the setting of a date for general elections. And so, we have instructed our attorneys to now prepare - well they have been working on it, be truthful. So, I'd say within the next few days, I can't give an exact date, but the injunction will be filed to put a stay on the date that has been set for the general elections, and asking that our case be fully ventilated in the court because it is a case that has been there for almost a year, case #55 of 2019. So, it's nothing new. The PM knew about this case, so he's well aware. And he's well aware that there was an injunction built into it, in the event that the case was prolonged into what is now election season."
"This is a constitutional case. We live in a constitutional democracy. The Court is the guardian of that democracy and upholds the constitution. So, we are very confident that the case will hold, that the injunction will have to be, we hope respected because it is a pre-requisite to hold a constitutional election that the constituencies be nearly as equal. And certainly, I believe only the ending of July voter report has come out, which is showing huge disparities between the largest, which is Stann Creek West - I believe right at around 9,000 voters, and Fort George, I believe right around 1,700 and other constituencies in Belize City hovering around 2,000. So, we're looking at almost a 5 to 1 difference in the weight that a vote carries within a Belize City constituency and a constituency out in the rural areas."
Reporter
"What would you say to those who are concerned that if indeed the court should grant this injunction, the case has already been sitting in the court system for 1 year already? How long should the elections be postponed for? We have no clear idea as to how quickly your case will be disposed of, and we have the appeal process that you can take as well."
Roberto "Bobby" Lopez
"Well, we certainly hope that we don't have to go to the appeal process. But, we want to ask Belizeans to once-and-for-all, let us place our constitution where it rightfully belongs, giving it the due respect that it deserves, and let us for once follow what it says."
"We don't want that after this election, that it has to be declared null and void, and we come right back to square 1. I'm telling Belizeans that let's be patient. Time is on our side. Within the constitution, the Prime Minister has a 90-day extension, which would take us into next February. Now, I'm not a legal person. So, I don't know what it would take to take it into the 1st Wednesday of March, and hold a double election, which we feel is the right thing to do. This country is flat broke. We're existing on borrowed money."
"I believe if the injunction is granted, the Supreme Court would expeditiously get this case over with, obligate the Elections and Boundaries Commission to carry out the redistricting process. From our research, redistricting has taken place in huge countries such as Australia, within a month. And we're talking about a vast expanse in Australia, with millions of voters. But with technology that exists today, GIS, you can look it up. It's right there. It's being used in every country to do redistricting."
"If we can get the court case finished within - I mean if they decide, let's have it every day, this thing could be done within a week, and we move on."
