After being locked in battle with the Government of Belize for three years the Belize Peace Movement has won their redistricting lawsuit against the Government of Belize and the Elections and Boundaries Commission. The Briceno Administration has conceded in a consent order that they will move to carry out redistricting as quickly as possible and that the Peace Movement must be kept in the loop as a sort of oversight.
Earlier this year, the Elections and Boundaries Commission announced that a Redistricting Taskforce, headed by Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai, had already begun the initial steps to investigate and research the best possible way to bring back all 31 electoral divisions in Belize to as nearly equal in size as possible.
But, the Peace Movement, a citizen group, has maintained that neither of the two mass parties has the political will to meaningfully address the disparity in the sizes of the electoral divisions. In fact, the status quo keeps politicians from both the red and blue camps in their political comfort zone. So, they kept their civil suit going against the Elections and Boundaries Commission and the Attorney General's Ministry.
Exactly 2 weeks ago, Justice Chabot delivered a perfected order, which captures the main terms of a consent order which the litigants on both sides agreed to as resolution to this redistricting issue.
Among other things, they have agreed that the claim will be stayed - or put on pause - for now. Next, the E&B Commission will have to prepare and submit a report to the claimants on their recommendations for electoral division changes by July 17th, 2023.
The Attorney General's Ministry also has to prepare a draft bill with recommendations from the Elections and Boundaries Commission, and they must lay those proposals before the National Assembly before July 31st, 2023.
Also, the defendants must consult the guidelines set out in the Court's expert report of Sean P. Trende.
But, the Peace Movement and their attorneys are aware that the government can foot drag endlessly - as they are still doing with the 2015 Consent Order on Maya Communal Land Rights. So, they called a press conference today to appeal to the general public to help them pressure the government to follow through with their promises in this new consent order.
This morning, their attorneys spoke with the press via Zoom, and here's what Arthur Saldivar had to say about the way this court case has concluded:
Arthur Saldivar - Attorney for BPM Claimants
"So, we have a consent order that was formed now at the end of the claim, 55 of 2019, and that consent order - if I may be allowed - I'd like to just read what it says. The first item, all further proceedings in this claim stayed upon terms set out in the schedule, except for the purpose of purpose of carrying those terms into effect. The parties - the claimants and the Elections and Boundaries Commission, and the Attorney General of Belize - who represents the Government of Belize - acknowledge that given the current distribution of registered voters in Belize, it is necessary for the Elections and Boundaries Commission to consider the distribution of voters and make recommendations with the amendment of the first schedule, the Representation of the People Act, to refine current electoral boundaries. So, they've agreed that there is now a need to redefine electoral boundaries. Two, the Elections and Boundaries Commission shall identify and explain, in a written report, its recommendations and proposals considered necessary for redistricting, as provided by the Belize Constitution generally and section 90 of the Belize Constitution in particular, and shall share the report with the claimants, on the date the report is laid before the National Assembly, or July 17th, 2023, whichever is earlier, or such other extended date as agreed between the parties. The first defendant, Election and Boundaries, shall cause the preparation of a draft bill, pursuant to section 90 of the Belize Constitution, to amend the first schedule for the Representation of the People Act to reflect the recommendation with Elections and Boundaries Commission has made its report. And the Elections and Boundaries Commission shall lay a proposal before the National Assembly before July 31, 2023. So we have a definite time, not only when the claimants will receive the proposals as a report, but when the National Assembly shall be given this report for debate. By the press conference, the Belize Peace Movement, the claimants in this matter who have carried the burden of putting the one man, one vote principle in action to ensure that the constitutional guarantee of one man, one vote is actually abided by. They have done their part by allowing the court to be the opportunity to interpret the constitution and give a determination as to what should actually - how that should be - the standard to which should be held. The government recognizes that the court was going to do what inevitably it should have done and decided that they were going to agree. And the claimants are in need now of you, the fourth branch of government - the media - and the people of Belize to hold this government and subsequent governments to what they should always do."
As you saw, one of the directions from the Supreme Court is that the defendants must consult the guidelines set out by the court's expert, Sean P. Trende. Possibly, the most significant disclosures in the case came from his report from October 14, 2020.
In his executive summary, he said, quote, "The degree of malapportionment present in Belize far exceeds any threshold suggested in other countries or by international organizations.
For example, an elector in... Fort George... casts a vote that has five times the value in the Belize House of Representatives as a vote cast by an elector in the Stann Creek West Electoral Division. Using the 10% deviation standard suggested but international organizations, only four of Belize's current electoral divisions are not severely malapportioned... 71% of Belize's electoral divisions are severely malapportioned... Malapportionment is particularly pronounced in the Belize District, where the most populous division (Belize Rural South) is 4.5 times the population of Fort George." End quote.
Here are a few more comments from the BPM's other attorney on why this expert's assessment demonstrates that for many years, Belize hasn't been meeting the standard of one man - or woman - equals one vote.
Michelle Trapp - Attorney for BPM Claimants
"He said most international organizations urge countries to draw electoral boundaries such that the maximum deviation is 10%, with additional allowances for districts drawn over sparsely populated areas. And then, he went into the report to look at different countries and what prevailed. He even looked at different judgments from varied courts. And his analysis of Belize, based on the numbers given from our electoral divisions, only that only five divisions in Belize really reached the standards as it relates to what prevails in the international standards. He looked at the Venice Commission. He looked at different judgments from Korea. He looked at judgments from Canada, Australia, United States. So, he went basically around the globe and looked to see what prevails in those countries as it pertains to international standards. In paragraph 9 of his executive summary, he said, 'Most counties fall in the middle of these two extremes. A fuller account of these standards lies in the body of the report, but the United Kingdom, for example, allows for deviation of up to 10%, as does Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic, which allows for deviation of up to 15%. Malta and Macedonia allow for deviations of up to 5%. Overall, most countries seem to employ an allowable deviation threshold of 10% and 15%. He says in paragraph 10 that the degree of malapportionment present in Belize far exceeds any threshold suggested in other countries by international organizations. And if you look at it, you're going to see the numerous other countries within what he looked at and saw what prevailed. You're going to see the use of the term equal, equality so that my vote and your vote has on the same weight, not what is happening now in Belize, where you have a person's vote is five times more than my vote because of whichever division I am in."
We have reached out to the Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission for comment, and he told us that he intends to discuss the matter with the press in the next few days.
