Moving on, Prime Minister John Briceño has made a brief public comment on the push by the churches to trigger a national referendum on the legalization of marijuana in Belize.
In order to do so, they needed at least 10% of the registered voters to sign on to their petition. While they were convinced that they had arrived at a minimum of 18,700 signatures, they had to make a last-minute scramble back to the streets to convince more supporters to sign on. That's because some of the Belizeans who signed on did not re-register, and so, their support does not move them in the direction of complying with the Referendum Act.
Still, they insisted to us that they were pretty close to submitting their petition to the Governor-General.
So, what does Prime Minister Briceno think about this referendum push? You've heard why his Minister of New Growth Industries thinks that a referendum is far too late since the legalization bill has gotten the necessary parliamentary approval. Here's what the PM had to say on Saturday in Orange Walk:
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Let me hurry [and] say because I did not listen to what Mr. Kareem said. I was out. But, let me put it this way. It is unfortunate that the churches decided that they want a referendum because they had adequate and enough time to tell us that this is what they wanted. We had extensive consultations with everyone, including the churches, in-door, public, and private. And now, for them now to say that they want a referendum. Well then, we have to respect their views. So, with that, thank you. I have to go and campaign."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, if they meet the 10% would you..."
This evening, Louis Wade told us that the Church Senator is expected to make the submission of the petition to the GG in the days to come.
