And this year, the department is hoping to speed up the counting with multiple counting stations. Last election there were 10 in Belize City, and Tamai says they're going to implement that again this time around.
Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer
"Well, what has been done and you notice that we have put out an addendum to the counting stations. And so for example, in Belize City, we have 10 different counting stations. And so counting will be happening simultaneously in the different areas."
"And so we're hoping that the counting will not take very long, which I will tell you that for a municipal election, counting always takes longer than a general election. Remember, for municipal elections, persons can vote for in the case of Belize City for 11 candidates in the case of Belmopan City and towns for seven candidates."
"And so it's seven times 11 times the amount of a normal general election. Right. And so when it comes to the counting as well, because persons can vote for solid along the line, and they could also split their votes."
"And so that is where the counting with it's a little bit tedious, so it takes a little longer. And so what we've done is to have additional counting stations so that counting can be done simultaneously, while ensuring that everything is accurate at the same time."
"And so for Belize City and also San Ignacio, which is the next largest area, they will be having three separate counting stations. In all other municipalities, it's one counting station. And so we're hoping that that will help in terms of having some sort of control, while at the same time having simultaneous counting and ensuring the accuracy of the results."
